


Bad Kid Summer

by Set_Suna



Category: Dimension 20 (Web Series)
Genre: Adaine has the brain cell, Angst, Anxiety, Baby, Campaign 01 Season 02: Fantasy High Sophomore Year (Dimension 20), Exorcisms, F/F, F/M, Fantasy High Freshman Year Spoilers (Dimension 20), Fantasy High Sophomore Year Spoilers (Dimension 20), Fig is an awful wingman, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, Nightmares, Non-Graphic Violence, Possession, Riz has a big fat crush, Riz vs. the paranormal, Summer Vacation, Tags Contain Spoilers, its, its mostly summer shenanigans, so does Fabian, who would I be if I didn't include
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:09:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 28,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25564117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Set_Suna/pseuds/Set_Suna
Summary: Sophomore year is finally over and the Bad Kids, after that disaster of a spring break, are eager to get the most out of their summer. With an invitation from Fabian, the Bad Kids + Ragh, Tracker, and Ayda make their way to the Seacaster summer home. Summer is the time for action, fun, intrigue, and romance. When things start to get freaky at Seacaster on the Bay, its up to the gang to get to the bottom of the mystery.
Relationships: Ayda Aguefort/Figueroth Faeth, Kristen Applebees/Tracker O'Shaughnessey, Ragh Barkrock/Zelda Donovan/Gorgug Thistlespring, Riz Gukgak/Fabian Aramais Seacaster
Comments: 33
Kudos: 165





	1. Down by the Bay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Bad Kids take a trip. Riz has questions. Fabian has answers.

Riz somehow managed to sink deeper into his seat. Packed into the Hangvan, he was squished between Fig and the wall. She was demoing her new idea for an album as they rolled through the countryside. Riz stood on his seat to peek into the row in front of him.

"Is this really okay?" Riz asked, ears flattened back against his head.

"Of course it is. You heard Fabian, he already got permission from Hallariel. She'll be there, along with Gilear and Cathilda. It's summer vacation, Riz. We can chill out for a bit," Adaine promised, closing the book she'd been skimming. 

"Yeah, Riz, you gotta learn to loosen up at some point," Kristen added on, leaning over Tracker to join the conversation. 

He sighed and fell back in his seat, "I guess so."

Two days ago during family dinner at Mordred Manor, Fabian had invited them all out to the Seacaster summer home on Harroway Bay. None of them could even think of declining, so the Bad Kids, Ragh, Tracker, and Ayda piled into the Hangvan and set off two days later. Past Bastion City, they had spent the better part of the morning and afternoon driving along the Celestine Sea. Riz, not a fan of invading personal spaces or leaving his job behind, wasn't too sure about the whole thing. All of his friends wanted him to come along, so there was no way he could say no. His mom thought it'd be good experience for him. And... maybe his dad would think that, too. He had the rest of his life and afterlife to work, after all. 

Fabian had gone ahead of them on the Hangman yesterday. His mother requested his presence to help her, Cathilda, and Gilear get everything prepared. The sun was falling deeper in the sky when they came upon the spotless white beaches of Harroway Bay. There were more beach houses and parks the further South they went, but eventually those faded as well. They entered a wooded area as the excitement in the van ramped up. Fig had abandoned her EP to join in the discussion of what they imagined they'd be doing this summer. 

"You gotta take this gravel path to the left, dude," Zathriel directed cooly. 

The Hangvan ventured deeper into the thicket. Pushing evening, they emerged on the sprawling estate of the Seacasters. The large lawn covered in trees met their own personal beach, giving them a clear view of the bright blue sea. 

"Holy shit," Ragh breathed in awe. 

They pulled the Hangvan into a circular gravel drive in front of a sparkling white beach house. On the front steps were Fabian, Hallariel, Cathilda, and Gilear awaiting them in the glowing evening light.

"There you all are!" Fabian exclaimed, bounding down the steps to wrap his arms around Gorgug and Ragh's shoulders. "Welcome to Seacaster Resort!" 

With his hair slicked back, light pink button up shirt, and board shorts, Fabian looked ready to start the summer. Riz admittedly wished he had Fabian's fashion sense. Outside of his dress pants, button up shirts, and vests, Riz didn't own very many casual clothes. Before the trip, Fig and Adaine dragged him to the Elm Valley Mall to try and save his style. They knew modern trends better than he did, so he trusted that the clothes they picked out suited him as much as they said.

"Fabian, darling, don't say that," Hallariel humbled her son. "It's no such thing, even if it is rather grand." 

"What are you talking about? This place is amazing!" Fig exclaimed, arms outstretched. 

"It is very large. It must be larger than Mordred Manor," Ayda decided, nodding sharply. 

"Three floors and most likely a basement," Riz deduced, pulling his briefcase from the trunk. "Not to mention everything we haven't seen behind the house."

"Correct you are, Riz," Fabian announced, "with enough space to house us all comfortably."

"You're just bragging now, Fabian," Adaine chided, walking up and patting his shoulder as she passed. 

"You wound me, Adaine," Fabian groaned. 

"Alright, that's enough dillydally. Why don't you all come inside for dinner?" Cathilda prompted, clapping her hands together. "We'll get you all settled in and have a nice family meal."

The group hurried to grab their bags from the trunk and rushed into the house. With Fabian's call of, "First come first served!" they all scattered. Riz found himself on the third floor, peeking in doors to find unoccupied rooms. After finding the master suite and a parlor room with a piano, Riz came upon an open guest room. It had one bed, a desk, necessary storage, and its own bathroom. It was good enough for Riz. 

He unloaded his things from his briefcase and collapsed on the bed for a minute. He yawned, exhausted from the day of travel even if they only sat in the van. It felt nice to just sprawl out and relax. Across from his bed was a small balcony, overlooking the side lawn of the house. He pulled himself up to slide open the glass doors. Leaning against the railing, he could see the sun beginning to set over the forest. 

Going back downstairs, Riz was met with the sound of multiple conversations happening at once. He could see Cathilda working around Kristen and Gorgug as they took plates and silverware to the dinner table. Fig was talking up Gilear while Ayda listened dutifully. Ragh and Tracker stood in the back of the room, admiring the sprawling backyard. Fabian, Adaine, and Hallariel were chatting in the living room. As Riz bounded down the last few steps, Adaine called out to him. 

"Riz! This place has its own library!" she told him excitedly. 

"That's great!" Riz replied automatically.

"They're mostly my mother's books, as I was saying," Fabian added.

"It would do you some good to learn a bit more of your roots," Hallariel smiled, placing a hand on Fabian's shoulder. "I'm not sure how much more you would want to learn of Fallinel, Adaine, but my library is free for you to peruse." 

"Thank you, Mrs. Seacaster," Adaine nodded gratefully. 

"Alright, everyone, dinner's on the table!" Cathilda called from the kitchen. 

Everyone stormed the table, eager to dig in. Cathilda's cooking was the best Riz had ever tasted. Their spring break trip was an enlightening experience. The others obviously agreed so, considering how fast they were eating.

"I will never get over your cooking, Cathilda," Fig spoke through a mouthful of chicken leg. "This shit slaps."

"Why, thank you Miss Faeth. I appreciate all of your compliments," Cathilda said warmly. 

"So, what are you kids' plans for the week?" Hallariel asked. 

"I don't know. What's on the itinerary?" Adaine asked the table. 

_Really? Itinerary? _Riz thought.__

__"Well, there's all sorts of things to do in the house, but who cares about that its summer," Fabian began. "Of course there's the beach, we could lounge at the pool, there's a nearby town we could visit, or there are some hiking trails through the woods."_ _

__The talk quickly devolved into nonsense. Beginning with Ayda asking why someone would go get lost in the woods for fun, their conversation derailed itself soon enough. Riz firmly believed they would not make a single plan this week. They would definitely be playing it by ear._ _

__Once dinner ended, Riz helped Cathilda and Fabian with the dishes. He dried the dishes Cathilda handed him before giving them to Fabian to put away. He watched the others outside through the large sliding glass doors to the backyard. They were busy collecting wood and setting up chairs for a campfire. Riz couldn't help but smile. Seeing all of his friends having such a good time, he didn't think he could ever regret spending time with them._ _

__Catching his eye as he glanced up from his work was a framed picture hanging on the wall. In the midst of other framed photos was a picture of a young Fabian, swinging a stick through the air like a sword. He recognized that it was on this property's private beach, the gleaming mansion in the background. He also could see Hallariel lounging on a beach chair. Her eyes covered with massive cat eye sunglasses, a glass of wine in her hand, Riz could deduce that she hadn't stopped drinking all day when the photo was snapped._ _

__"Surprisingly, I don't have many... good memories in this house," Fabian admitted, coming up beside him. Riz jumped, completely startled. Luckily, he didn't drop the cup he was drying. Fabian slipped it from his hands and continued talking, "I only ever came here with my mother. Papa never joined us. She usually held lavish parties for her friends that he didn't care much for. I spent that time in my room alone."_ _

__"I'm... sorry, Fabian," Riz mumbled quietly, wringing the towel in his hands._ _

__"Mama was never very present. Always drinking... numbing her senses, whatever she needed to not feel anything. But that's changed, she's trying more than I've ever seen," Fabian insisted. He tilted his head and scratched his jawline, smiling as his eyes wondered to the backyard. "Besides, I'm able to enjoy it with you all now. I'll be making new memories of this place. Hopefully happier ones."_ _

__"Yeah, we'll have you forgetting all that in no time," Riz agreed, handing him another glass._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know its a Hot Girl Summer reference. But this is it, I'm committing to a multichapter fic. I'm living out every summer experience I can through these kids. We're gonna have a Bad Kid Summer, y'all.


	2. Ultimate Chicken Competition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riz takes a fall. Fabian plays chicken. Fig gets a warning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't say it last time so I wanted to say I'll be aiming to update this fic at least once a week until its finished. Depending on how fast/slow I write, that may change. I head to college at the end of the month, but I'm hoping to have this done by then. Anyway, here's the chapter!

The morning greeted him warmly. The sun rising above the ocean waves cast a summery glow on the Seacaster beach home. Riz slowly rolled over to glance at the clock. It still felt odd not to be waking up at six in the morning. Considering how little he normally slept, getting a full eight hours made him feel groggy. He squirmed out of his sheets, sleepy and sort of ready to face the day. Trudging down the stairs, he could see Adaine and Gorgug sitting at the kitchen island. 

"Good morning Riz," Adaine greeted kindly.

"Morning," Gorgug said, mouth full of cereal. He gestured to the box of Lucky Charms on the table, "Want some?"

"Sure," Riz shrugged, nabbing a bowl and settling down. As he drowned his cereal in milk, he asked, "Nobody else awake yet?"

"Nobody except Cathilda and Fabian," Adaine answered.

Gorgug filled in, "Cathilda went to town for groceries and Fabian's doing morning training."

"He's really changed, hasn't he?" Adaine prompted, tapping her spoon against the top of her cereal. "I mean, given spring break... I don't know how he couldn't have." 

Riz hummed in agreement. He stared into his bowl, as if it could give him any comfort. Thinking about what happened in Leviathan wasn't something Riz liked to do. He despised most of the time they spent there. Every now and then he would remember that night in Crow's Keep and how they found Fabian. He would think about how Kalina tossed Fabian in the ocean to get information out of him. He would remember seeing Fabian, sick and depressed and at the lowest he's ever been. It made him glad he'd been the one to get the final shot that killed Kalina. 

"I think... he's come out on the other side a better person. And that's pretty cool," Gorgug completed his thoughts. 

"Yeah. Fabian's pretty cool," Riz agreed quietly. 

Their somber conversation was interrupted by the loud entrance of one Kristen Applebees. She rushed down the stairs, closely followed by Tracker. She slid around the other side of the island, held out her crystal, and excitedly said, "Look at this!"

Kristen was showing them the day's weather forecast. Mid nineties, not a single cloud in the sky. She bounced happily and quickly pulled her crystal back. 

"It's perfect beach weather! We have to go today," Kristen declared, pounding her fists on the counter. 

"If thats alright with the others, I'm okay with it," Adaine shrugged. 

"Yeah, I think it sounds like a good plan," Riz agreed with a nod.

"So it sounds like today is beach day?" Fabian questioned, casually strolling into the kitchen and their conversation. 

Riz saw this coming. He knew he was fucked the moment he agreed to come on this trip. He felt his face flush as soon as he looked at Fabian. Tank top, towel around his neck, fresh off his morning training, Fabian looked hot as hell. For all the times Riz had seen him after a bloodrush game or a tough battle, he never got over this sight. It always made him bite his tongue and his heart rate pick up the pace tenfold. He shoved another spoonful of cereal in his mouth as Fabian leaned over Kristen's shoulder to check out the weather forecast. 

"It's perfection, really," Kristen insisted again. 

"I agree. Beach day it is!" Fabian exclaimed. 

Now fully awake, Riz mildly joined in the cheer. He hurried to finish the rest of his cereal and escape back upstairs. He could hear Kristen charging to the basement with an anticipating yell of, "Fiiiig! Aydaaa!" 

Riz closed his bedroom door behind him and groaned loudly. He slid his hands down his face and left them under his chin, defeated. How was he going to survive?

-

Fabian truly knew inviting his friends to his summer home was a good idea as soon as they set foot on the beach. He watched as Ragh ran to the water, leapt ten feet, and crashed into the surf. His head popped back up over the waves with a whoop. Fabian couldn't help but laugh deeply from his stomach. 

"Gorgug, hold the reigns on your boyfriend!" Tracker teased. 

"You know I can't do that," Gorgug responded. 

As his friends scattered about, Fabian laid out a blanket. Cathilda scuttled up behind him, setting down a large picnic basket and a cooler full of drinks. She adjusted the rim of her little sunhat and looked to him.

"Don't worry yourself about helping me, young master Fabian, go spend time with your friends," she insisted, waving him off. 

As if by fate, Riz called out to him from the water, "Fabian, you coming?"

He smiled, nodding to Cathilda and calling back, "Be right there!" 

Fabian, full speed, jumped and crashed into the water. Surfacing, he shook his hair around before slicking it back against his head. His eyes first landed on Riz, laughing, hands in front of his face to block the splash, and his wet hair pushed back out of his face. Fabian blamed his face getting warm on the sun and laughed along with him. Second, he noticed the game of volleyball they were playing over Ayda and Fig, who were laying on top of a floating raft. Ragh and Gorgug were up against Kristen and Tracker. Adaine floated nearby, hanging on a pool noodle. 

"The way of the couples," she mourned, "leaving us singles out to dry." 

"Not for long," Fabian decided, an idea popping into his head. He dove back underwater and reappeared beneath Riz, pushing him up so he sat on his shoulders. Riz yelped, but quickly got the memo.

"The couples shall reign no longer!" Riz exclaimed. 

"Go get em, guys!" Adaine cheered as Fabian forged ahead, tossing Riz an inflatable beach ball. 

Fabian stormed their impromptu court. Riz threw the ball at Ragh, who took it straight to the chest before a maniacal grin spread across his face. He disappeared beneath the water, rising again with Gorgug securely on his shoulders. 

"Oh, babe, give me a boost!" Kristen turned to Tracker. 

"You know it, babe," she agreed eagerly, following in Ragh's footsteps. 

Their game of chicken was immediately on. Ragh was already moving on them. The combination of Ragh and Gorgug basically doubled him and Riz. 

"Go for his eyes!" Adaine called, having paddled up next to Fig and Ayda'a raft. 

Riz... sort of did that. He reached to the water and splashed a wave upwards, distracting Ragh greatly. Fabian looked to their left to see Kristen and Tracker approaching them at terminal velocity. 

"Hold on!" he called, tightening his grip on Riz's legs. 

He dunked himself underwater, avoiding Kristen's hands as she went to shove. She instead collided directly with the Gorgug-Ragh stack. Fabian resurfaced to see Gorgug's arms flailing as he tumbled off of Ragh's shoulders. It was only them and Kristen now. He was sure they could topple her somehow. 

Fabian advanced before Trackerbees could regain their balance. Riz let out a war cry as he reached out to shove with all his goblin might. Just when Fabian thought they had it in the bag, Kristen spun towards them. Her hands snapped out to grab Riz's wrists and pull him forward. The sudden jostle knocked Fabian off balance, making him collapse forward in the surf. He resurfaced quickly, pulling Riz up with him. The small burst of worry he felt faded when he saw that Riz was laughing. 

"We are the ultimate power couple!" Kristen declared loudly. 

"You bet your ass we are!" Tracker called, sliding Kristen off her shoulders to kiss her. 

"Gorgug and Riz both fell into the water. Kristen was the only one left standing. Does that mean she is the winner?" Ayda asked, tilting her head towards Fig. 

"You're absolutely right, babe," Fig nodded. She cupped her hands around her mouth and announced, "Trackerbees wins the Ultimate Chicken Competition!" 

"Boo!" Adaine yelled as the others cheered. "I wanted my champions to win."

"Sorry, Adaine, we'll do better next time," Fabian apologized with a laugh. 

"We'll definitely win next time," Riz insisted with a grin. 

Fabian knew he was fucked. That moment solidified that fact. Riz, smiling up at him, eyes shining in the afternoon sun. Fabian practically felt his heart skip a beat. Not to mention the form fitting surfer shirt he wore to hide his tattoos. The short sleeves didn't do much for the arms, but it did make Fabian's face flush. He knew this crush was turning into something deeper, but he wanted to keep this warm feeling in his chest to himself for little while longer. 

As the day winded away, Fabian ended up playing a regular old game of catch with Ragh and Gorgug. Adaine had taken Fig's place on the raft, seemingly napping while Fig and Ayda chat, Fig resting her arms and head on the raft with her legs kicking in the water. Riz had joined Kristen and Tracker on the beach, building the most elaborate sand castle Fabian had ever seen. 

The last time Fabian had played in these waters he was eight and splashing in the shallows because Cathilda had to keep an eye on him and his mother. Things were so much different now. He had friends-true friends-who he could spend time with. His mother was sober, talking and laughing with Gilear. The things that made him smile now he couldn't say would make him happy just a few years ago. He was truly rotten to his friends the first time he met them, but now he wouldn't have it any other way. He liked being part of the Bad Kids. Nothing would change that. 

Soon, Cathilda was calling them out of the water to come and eat. The evening pushed ever closer and the sun began to fall out of the sky as they settled down. Fabian sat cross legged on the blanket as he bit into his sandwich. Riz plopped down next to him, a fourth of his sandwich already gone. He was silent for a moment, staring out across the ocean. 

"How ya feeling?" he asked quietly. 

"If you're talking about last night, I feel fine. None of that really bothers me much anymore. Like I said, things are changing," Fabian told him.

"Okay, just wanted to make sure," Riz said hurriedly. "I just... kinda kept thinking about it. I wanted to be sure you were okay."

"Well, I am. I'm a long way from who I was back then," Fabian promised. 

Riz nodded almost too hard. He took another bite of his sandwich before saying, "I'm really glad you invited us out here, Fabian. It's all been really fun so far." 

"I'm glad you're enjoying it," Fabian smiled.

After they were all finished eating, they began to pack up. Everyone helped carry things back to the house or the garage. Fabian was setting down a parasol when he heard a crystal buzz. He turned to see Fig scramble for hers. She slid open a text and shouted with excitement. 

"Lola just texted me! She got the art for the cover of our next album!" Fig announced, bouncing with excitement. She shoved her crystal in Fabian's face, "Look at it! Isn't it badass?!"

The front cover bore the words "Spring Break! From Hell" with a picture of a van he assumed was supposed to be the Hangvan surrounded by flames. The back showed the same idea, but with the Hangman himself, pictured behind the song titles.

"It is pretty badass," Fabian acknowledged. "You perfectly captured the essence of the Hangman."

"Wait a minute," Riz started, squinting at Fig's crystal, "is that song titled 'Speak Not of the Night Yorb'?" 

"You bet!" Fig answered.

"Why?" Riz asked with a laugh.

"The Hangman and Zathriel made it seem like something scary and badass, so I wrote a song about it," Fig shrugged.

"Are my words a joke to you?!" the Hangman roared, currently parked in the garage. "The Night Yorb is not something to be spoken lightly of!" 

"Yeah, man, the Night Yorb is not something you kids should be messin' with," Zathriel added, parked right next to the Hangman. 

"It should be okay if I sing about his horrifying-ness in a song though, right?" Fig questioned.

"It would be better to never speak its name at all!" the Hangman raged. 

Fig shrugged, clicking off her crystal, "Oh well."

Fabian, feeling exhaustion set in, desperately wanted to get to his room and shower before he conked out completely. Passing through the living room, he saw Ragh and Gorgug already asleep, with Gorgug's head rested on Ragh's shoulder. He climbed the stairs quietly, hoping he wouldn't disturb them. 

Once he was properly clean and changed, Fabian melted into his bed. The smile he had wouldn't fade from his face. He kept thinking about the fun he had with his friends. This place was empty, a shell of home. Now he was giving it purpose. He was making it into a home he could share with others. 

He thought about Riz, and how overjoyed he looked just to be having fun. He often saw Riz serious, focused on a task, absorbed in his detective work. Seeing such a genuine smile made his heart melt. He curled himself tight in his sheets, that warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest. Fabian had all sorts of feelings for Riz Gukgak. The one he was recognizing the most recently, was love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you're all enjoying it! If you want to hear more from me, my tumblr is @quibbels and my twitter is @Quiblii !


	3. Heart-racing Day at the Seaside Festival!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riz gets a wake up call. Adaine lets Fig in on a secret. Fabian takes a chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me date this chapter and say happy ACOC finale day! I'll add to this day with a new chapter. Hope you enjoy uwu

Riz was having a nightmare. He could deduce that much. The ever expanding darkness whichever way he turned wasn't exactly a good sign. The only thing he saw otherwise was his own body. He could move, but he wasn't really going anywhere. He was flailing around in the void. 

Suddenly, it felt like the darkness was crushing him. The pressure on his chest was so intense he couldn't breathe. A low growl reverberated in his ears as he gasped for breath.

"Riz Gukgak," a voice rumbled, coarse and angry, "your life... will be forfeit." 

Riz jolted awake, air readily filling his lungs. He was covered in sweat, his shirt was slightly damp with it. He gasped, waiting for enough air to come back to him so he could regulate his breathing. When his heart rate began to slow down, he stumbled out of bed, making his way to his briefcase on the desk. He pulled out a pencil and a pad of paper. He had some things to note down. 

He quickly scribbled down notes. Darkness; growling; low, all encompassing voice that shook him to his very core; his life would be forfeit. There were no dots. There was nothing to connect. Riz dropped his pencil and dropped his face into his arms, leaning against the desk. He inhaled, held four seconds, exhaled, held four seconds. He needed to calm down. 

A knock on his door made him jump, but it was only Adaine's voice coming from the other side. 

"Riz, are you awake? Cathilda made pancakes," she announced.

"Yeah-yeah I'll be down in a second," Riz answered, shoving the pencil and pad of paper back in his briefcase. He needed a minute. He needed a shower.

Breakfast was waiting for him once he got downstairs. Somehow, he wasn't the last to arrive. Gorgug and Ragh blearily stumbled downstairs a few minutes after him. He was already enjoying his own stack of pancakes when they finally came down for theirs. Gathered around the kitchen island, they all ate their fill of Cathilda's pancakes.

"What's the plan for today?" Kristen asked, still chewing. 

"If you have nothing planned, you could head into town. There's a festival in town today that I think you'd all enjoy!" Cathilda informed them, sliding another pile of pancakes onto a platter in the center of the table.

"It's very cute. In previous years they've had all kinds of games and treats," Hallariel elaborated. "There's also fireworks once it gets dark. It'd be a wonderful time." 

"Come on, we have to go now," Fig said matter of factly. "I wanna show Ayda carnival games!" 

"It means a lot that you're thinking of me," Ayda said, putting a hand on her girlfriend's shoulder. "I have never gone to a festival with my friends before."

"You're gonna love it, Ayda," Tracker told her. 

"We should reserve a place for lunch," Adaine commented, her excitement building. 

"There's a lovely seafood restaurant in town that I know you all will love," Fabian said, knowing glint in his eye. 

"Return of the Crab King!" Ragh yelled. 

"Return of the Crab King!" the others echoed, laughing loudly. 

"I'm a fan of the idea Shrimp Party 2.0," Riz smiled. 

He watched Fabian's eye light up as he pulled out his crystal. Dialing a number, he said, "Then I'll make a reservation for twelve." 

Riz was already dressed, so he waited in the living room with Adaine while the others rushed to their rooms to get ready. He idly scrolled through social media, checking out the posts his friends made yesterday. Fig had posted a selfie of her and Ayda out on their raft, along with her new album art. Kristen had posted a picture of the evening sky as the stars had just began to come out. A post from Adaine shocked him still. It was a picture of him and Fabian, talking while they ate their sandwiches. The next picture was from the same angle, but Riz was laughing while Fabian smiled widely. The caption read _"The boys are chatting 🤭🤭"_.

Riz felt his face get hot as he sat up quickly. He stuck his phone over Adaine's face, who was laying at the other end of the couch. He asked, his voice higher than normal, "Why did you post this of all things??"

"What? You two look great," Adaine retorted, taking Riz's crystal to check the post again. "You never post pictures of yourself, anyway. I happily took up the job." 

Riz groaned and snatched back his crystal, falling back on the couch. He stared at the picture of Fabian's smile for a minute longer before turning his crystal off and hiding his face in his hands. Adaine sat up, staring at him with the look that told you she was picking something apart. 

"What's the big deal? I thought you wouldn't mind," Adaine prompted. 

"No, its fine, its just- that picture-" Riz groaned again and let his hands fall to his sides. How could he say that seeing Fabian's smile like that made his heart pound indirectly? He shoved himself up on his elbows and settled for, "I didn't really expect it, I'm just kinda embarrassed." 

"Well, I'll ask you next time," Adaine said, patting his knee lightly. 

Once everyone was ready, they headed to the garage to pile into their vehicles. Before Riz had the chance to think about getting in the Hangvan, Fabian called out to him. Sitting on the Hangman, white khaki shorts, blue floral shirt buttoned one button too low, sunglasses hanging from his nose, Riz fell. 

"Riz, wanna ride with me?" he asked cooly. 

"Oh, uh, s-sure, yeah," Riz stuttered, face flushed immediately. 

He climbed on the Hangman, more awkward than ever. He'd done this multiple times before, but he'd never felt so tense. He'd never been so aware that it is was Fabian sitting in front of him. 

"Hold on tight," Fabian instructed, smile clear in his voice. 

Riz wrapped his arms around Fabian's waist just as he kicked the Hangman into gear. He held on tight just as he'd asked, chest pressed to Fabian's back. He hoped Fabian couldn't feel how hard his heart was pounding. 

-

Adaine had been watching Riz ever since he freaked out about her post that morning. She'd felt something was off with him, but this was particularly hard to place. She could usually tell what was wrong when something was bothering Riz. She took another look at the photos she snapped of him and Fabian. She thought of yesterday morning when Fabian finished his workout. Riz had suddenly seemed so flustered. It wasn't hard to put two and two together from there. 

Now, she was observing from afar. She sucked on a cherry Icee and hid behind Fig and Ayda. She'd watched Ayda eat an ice cream sandwich in three bites before returning her attention to Riz and Fabian. They hadn't been spending all of their time together, but it was quite a lot. Admittedly, she didn't do as much research as she would have liked. There were many other kids she had to keep out of trouble. 

"Hey, Gilear!" Fig called, running towards her stepdad. Adaine couldn't help but sigh. Gilear was holding two ice cream cones, both with the ice cream melting over his hands. Fig ignored that sad image and asked, "Where's Hallariel? Weren't you two hanging out?"

"Ah, daughter, Hallariel went to the, uh, ladies room," Gilear answered, watching the ice cream drip to the pavement, "and, well, I bought us some ice cream but... it's not turning out so well." 

Adaine couldn't stand this. She casted a quick Ray of Frost on the cones to freeze them up. She spun away as Gilear mumbled, "Oh, yes, thank you Miss Abernant..." 

Tuning out the conversation, she found Riz and Fabian across the way. She nearly spit the slushie out of her mouth at what she saw. Without looking away, she slapped Fig's arm furiously. 

"Look-look at this!" Adaine hissed, pulling Fig so she could see. 

"What-? Oh shit..." Fig gasped, finally seeing what Adaine saw.

Fabian had bought a bracelet with a piece of deep blue sea glass at its center. It was woven from thread with little beads throughout the pattern. Adaine and Fig watched as Fabian slipped the bracelet on Riz's wrist and tightened it. Adaine could barely believe her eyes. After watching her friends fall in love over and over again, she saw all the signs in a heartbeat. 

"-but they didn't have a banana flavor so I had to settle with this," she heard Gilear saying sadly.

"Yeah, Gilear, that sucks," Fig acted like she listened at all and turned to Adaine. She grabbed her wrists and whispered, "We have to do something about this, right?"

"Like what?!" Adaine asked, scared of what Fig would think up. 

"Like help it along! Be wingmen!" Fig hissed excitedly. 

"Don't you think we should figure out some more info first?" Adaine questioned, desperately trying to calm Fig down. "Please at least let me talk to Riz before you do anything. And don't! Tell anyone!"

Fig drew an X over her heart with her finger and said, "Promise! Just tell me the deets as soon as you figure them out!"

"Okay, I will, just please keep it quiet," Adaine begged. She was really wondering if she would regret dragging Fig into this. 

-

Fabian barely believed he did that. His hands were shaking the whole time he slipped that bracelet on Riz's wrist. Riz had been admiring it while they browsed the various little shops set up on the street. Almost on instinct, Fabian bought it for him. He didn't regret it, but he did feel embarrassed. Riz had awkwardly thanked him and before the situation could get any worse, Ragh ran over to challenge Fabian to a carnival game. 

Instead of dwelling on what he'd just done, Fabian put his all into beating Ragh at the High Striker. He ended up losing, but how could he compete with the guy who could lift Gorgug like he was a box of paper? They continued to explore the festival after that. Ragh crushed a funnel cake in less than thirty seconds, something managing to not throw up. Fabian opted to just share one with Riz and Gorgug. But time quickly whittled away. The sun had begun to set behind the forest until it turned completely dark and stars made their appearance in the sky. They followed text directions from Adaine to a park in the middle of town to watch the fireworks.

"Over here!" Kristen called, frantically waving her hands. 

She was gathered with Tracker, Fig, Ayda, Adaine, Cathilda, Hallariel, and Gilear on a blanket in the grass. Fabian, Riz, Gorgug, and Ragh slipped between other blankets and people waiting to watch the fireworks. Fabian settled next to Riz on the edge of the blanket. He leaned forward as Kristen started talking. 

"There was this one sweet shop and they had the best candy apples I've ever tasted," she sighed. 

"All the shops had so many interesting things, too," Adaine noted.

"It was very nice to see everyone having fun. I think I like festivals very much," Ayda nodded. 

"I told you you'd love it," Tracker called, chin resting on Kristen's shoulder. 

"You were absolutely right. Thank you for telling me," Ayda replied. 

"Oh wait!" Fig exclaimed, digging through her backpack. She whipped around and declared, "I got glow sticks!" 

"Oh hell yes," Ragh agreed with the notion. 

Fig decided which colors they got. She handed matching pink bracelets to Ragh and Gorgug. She gave Adaine a blue stick and a yellow stick. She placed a red ring around Ayda's neck and a purple ring around her own. She gave Kristen and Tracker green bracelets to share. Then she handed three unmade bracelets to Fabian, two blue and one red. 

"Pass one to Riz," she instructed, going into her backpack for more. 

Fabian cracked the sticks, illuminating them instantly. He stuck a connector on a blue bracelet and turned to Riz. 

"Give me your hand," he said as casually as he could manage. 

Riz did as he said, sticking out the hand with the bracelet he bought on it. Fabian bended the glow stick around his wrist, snapping the pieces together. A smile tipped up the edge of his lips. 

"That's two bracelets I've given you today," he commented, sliding his hand off of Riz's.

But Riz grabbed on, keeping Fabian's hand in his. He said, "Hold on, let me see the other bracelets." 

He handed the other bracelets to Riz who quickly got to work. He wrapped the remaining bracelets around Fabian's wrist. One red and one blue. 

"There," he said, satisfied, "now we're even."

Fabian laughed, staring down at his new accessories. He replied lightheartedly, "Yeah, I guess so." 

A whistle pierced the night air. A point of light zipped up in the sky and exploded into a bright show of sparks. The fireworks had begun. Fig whooped loudly as more flew up in the sky. Bursts of color and sound flooded Fabian's senses. He watched, stunned, at the show playing out before him. Yet, his gaze wondered downward. He glanced at Riz only for that warm feeling in his chest to pulse. 

Riz stared to the sky, eyes shining with the joy of a kid seeing this for the first time. Fabian wanted to wrap his arm around his shoulder, kiss him on the cheek, hold him close, but he couldn't. His helpless love left him wanting. He dug his fingers into the blanket. But what if? Fabian chanced something, with all the noise and lights maybe no one would notice. He slid his hand across the blanket. He hesitated, fingers outstretched, but slowly curled them around Riz's. He felt his heart leap in his chest when Riz's fingers held tightly onto his.

-

Adaine wasn't fond of how loud and eardrum-shattering fireworks were, but she could appreciate them all the same. She liked them because they were pretty. She liked them because they made her friends smile. She liked them right now because they let her get away with some spying. She tilted her head forward to look at Fabian and Riz. At first, she noticed their intertwined fingers. Then, she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. 

She thought she saw Riz's shadow move. She thought his shadow moved its arms away from the position Riz had his real arms in. She knew shadows didn't move on their own but yet... With the flash of another firework, it was gone. She wasn't sure if she was seeing things or not, she couldn't be. She stared at Riz's shadow for a few more moments, expecting the fireworks to reveal something more, but it didn't break away from Riz again. Adaine had something she could tell Fig. She also had something she would keep to herself for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes a glow stick bracelet is something that can actually be so personal.


	4. Fort Pillownia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adaine makes her move. Fig gets to work. Riz has a nightmare.

"I can't believe its raining," Kristen whined, slumping deeper in her chair. 

"There's always tomorrow," Tracker comforted, patting her knee. 

Riz leaned over the arm rest of his chair to gaze out the back windows. Raining was an understatement. It was truly storming outside. A rumble of thunder shook the house as if to make his point. The rain that felt pelted the grass hard. Going outside for any reason would be a bad idea. 

"Staying inside isn't all that bad," Gorgug tried to reason. "There's fun things you can do inside."

Fig shot up straight from laying on the floor. She shouted, "I got it! I know what we're gonna do today!" 

"What might that be?" Fabian asked, raising an eyebrow. He was still wearing the glow stick bracelets from last night, their red and blue light barely shining. To be fair, Riz was still wearing his, too. 

Fig smiled at him maniacally, "Two words: pillow fort." 

"That is something I can get behind," Kristen agreed, sitting up straighter.

Adaine rolled her eyes and came up behind Riz. As the others organized to action, she asked him, "Do you want to check out the library with me?" 

"Yeah, I'd like that," Riz chuckled, watching Fig adamantly describe the plan. 

He slid out of his chair to follow Adaine down the hallway. She pushed through a set of double doors and slowly stepped inside. Riz was mildly impressed by the library's size. The walls had floor to ceiling shelves, every available space stuffed with books or family photos and memorabilia. There was reading and work space in the middle of the room. The room overall had a very cozy feel. 

"Amazing," Adaine breathed, running her fingers over the spines of books as she passed. "All of these books are about ancient elven history." 

Riz hummed, unsure of how interesting the history of the Lomenelda could be. From their brief time in Kei Lumennura, he didn't think he wanted to learn much more about them. He still thought about the grapes sometimes. He wondered if these books held the reason as to why those even existed. 

Scanning the shelves, Riz's eyes landed on a mounted hook hand. The tip was rusted, but the rest was in perfect polished shape. It rested on two prongs in a sleek wooden stand. A small golden plaque read, "Retired on Our Wedding Day". Talk about a way to get a new hand.

"Hey, um, Riz," Adaine started nervously. She tapped the cover of a book with her fingertips anxiously. She continued, "How... are things between you and uh, Fabian lately?" 

Riz's hand stopped as he reached out for a book. _Religious Secrets_ didn't seem as important just then. He slid the book off the shelf anyways and answered, "Uh, fine, why do you ask?" 

He turned and watched as Adaine's eyes dashed across him. He became hyperaware of the bracelets still on his wrist. 

"It's just... After you sort of freaked out about my post yesterday I got to thinking and-" Adaine sighed heavily. She put her book down and walked up to him. She grabbed his shoulders and asked, "Do you like Fabian?" 

Riz blanched, taking a half step back. Adaine panicked immediately.

"I'm sorry if I'm overstepping my boundaries I was just watching you two yesterday cause I thought something was up and-" 

"It's-It's okay, Adaine, really," Riz said, trying to calm her down. "You were just worried about me, I get it. But..." Riz sighed, fiddling with his bracelets, "yeah, yeah I do." 

The silence that followed made his stomach churn. His one secret was found out. He knew Adaine wouldn't care, but having it out in the open still made his heart race. He jumped when Adaine slipped her hand into his. She squeezed his hand and softly said, "Your secret's safe with me."

"Thank you," Riz sighed in one breath.

"AndalsomaybeFig but don't panic!" Adaine rambled, sticking her hands out and waving them frantically.

"What do you mean 'also maybe Fig'?!" Riz exclaimed, definitely panicking. Fig was an open book! She couldn't keep a secret to save her life!

"I may have let her in on a few... incriminating things, but-"

"Oh my god," Riz said exasperatedly, sitting down in the nearest chair. 

"No, its okay, I swear, she just wants to help," Adaine continued, walking in front of him still with her hands out. 

"Help how? With what?" Riz questioned, leaning forward and pulling Adaine's hands out of his face. 

"Be your-your wingman!" Adaine answered. "Before you ask me anything else, I have the reason. Fig and I want to help you because... because Fabian might like you, too."

-

Fig nearly knocked her head against a chair when her crystal buzzed in her sweatshirt pocket. She sat up on her knees, deep in the inner machinations of the pillow fort, to dig her crystal out. Seeing the message was from Adaine, she grinned and dove under a pile of blankets. 

**Addy Abernaddy [2:37 PM]**

It's confirmed: Riz likes Fabian

**Figeth the Insatiable [2:38 PM]**

AHA!!! WE KNEW IT!!!

**Addy Abernaddy [2:38 PM]**

Don't do anything rash!!

Please!!

**Figeth the Insatiable [2:38 PM]**

OKAY I promise I won't do anything too bad

**Addy Abernaddy [2:39 PM]**

That doesn't sound very promising 

**Figeth the Insatiable [2:39 PM]**

just trust me

**Addy Abernaddy [2:40 PM]**

Fine. I'm coming downstairs with Riz now. Don't cause a commotion! 

**Figeth the Insatiable [2:40 PM]**

roger that

She quickly stuffed her crystal back in her pocket, smile twice as wide. She scurried out from under the pile of blankets to scuttle across the basement floor and leap into the pile of pillows in the center of the fort.

"Adaine and Riz are on their way," she announced, rolling onto her back. 

"Cool, we're pretty much done, anyway," Gorgug replied, slipping in from another side corridor. 

Another blast of thunder shook the house as Fig slithered out from the pillow pile. She somersaulted into the tunnel that lead to the entrance and crawled as fast as her knees allowed her without getting a floor burn. She popped out of the entrance and stretched while she could. She spun on a socked heel to take in her masterpiece. Her pillow kingdom. Fig watched as Fabian, standing through a hole in the canopy, adjusted a blanket to cover another empty patch. A pillow flew through the crack, slamming him in the face. He caught it readily before turning away from his work.

"Oho, Applebees, it is _on!_ " he exclaimed, chucking the pillow and diving back into the fort.

Fig turned around as Riz's voice behind her said, "Whoa..."

The fort did take up most of the basement's floor space. They left space open in front of the stairs, the bathroom, and around a pool table in the corner. The area around the media center and large couch in front of it was left mostly clear for movie night purposes. The fort also had multiple rooms, vaguely reminiscent of the Moon Haven in the Hangvan. 

"How did you guys even manage this?" Adaine asked, totally shocked.

"Lots of direction from yours truly," Fig said with a bow. 

"I have to say I'm impressed," Riz nodded, crossing his arms. 

"Oh! Riz, I know about your... y'know, but trust me. I'm only here to help," Fig insisted, placing a hand on her chest. 

Riz sighed, "Yeah I know." He eyed her seriously and said, "I'm trusting you with this." 

"Riz! Adaine! You gotta get in here!" Kristen called, laced with giggles. 

Fabian popped his head out of the same hole he was just in, "You have to watch me beat the shit out of Kris in this pillow fight!" 

"Not on my watch!" Tracker yelled from somewhere, followed by the thud of a pillow and an "oof" from Fabian as he toppled back into the fort. 

Fig laughed and dropped to her knees. She rolled backwards into the tunnel and threw open her arms. She rumbled, "Follow me, weary travelers, into Pillownia." 

She spun, smiling as Adaine mumbled exasperatedly, "Oh my God." Fig lead them past the branching tunnels to separate rooms and exits. She sprung forward into the pile of blankets and pillows, completely ignoring the warfare happening around her. A throw pillow soared over her head, flying past Kristen. Ayda's head popped up over a wall of blankets. She dove forward and smacked Gorgug with a pillow, knocking him on his ass. 

"Are you all right, Fig?" she asked, turning to face her. 

"Yep! Thanks for protecting mee!" Fig sang. 

"God, you are so cute," Ayda mumbled, before returning her attention to the fight and jumping out of the way of a swing from Ragh. 

Adaine and Riz were aptly roped into the fight. Safe under her pile of comfort in the center of the battlefield, Fig was free to watch both sides unbothered. It was girls versus boys, the two opponents defending their honor as pillow fight warriors. Ayda was doing amazing work, she had to say. Kristen and Tracker weren't doing too bad, either. Adaine was mostly hiding and supplying pillow ammunition. The boys' side was rather impressive. The three bloodrush stars and Riz made for a powerful combination. 

An idea flashed in Fig's mind. Maybe there was a way to help the girls's side and get started on that side job. She slid under the blanket and pillow cover and started shuffling across the floor. Heading to the boys' side of the warfare, she had her eyes set on Riz. He was chucking pillows right next to Fabian. This plan was foolproof. 

Fig grabbed a nearby pillow and shot up from her hiding spot. She raised her weapon and shouted, "For Pillownia!" 

She swung her pillow, deftly shoving Riz into Fabian. As planned, Fabian dropped his pillow to catch Riz as they tumbled back into the squishy floor. 

"Charge!" Kristen yelled. 

Fig watched as Kristen jumped forward, tackling Gorgug to the ground pillow first. Tracker and Ayda teamed up on Ragh, who was swiftly smothered with pillows. Adaine settled with walking up to Fabian and Riz and tossing a bundle of blankets on top of them. Fig couldn't help but laugh, watching Fabian struggle to find his way out. She managed to briefly catch Riz's eye, allowing her to send him a wink. She relished in how his cheeks lit up pink. 

"Victory!" Kristen cheered triumphantly, allowing Gorgug to sit up. 

"How many times must you shame me, Kristen?" Fabian asked woefully. 

Riz laughed and patted Fabian's knee, sat between his legs. He said, "You're still very heroic." 

Fig nearly cackled out loud. It was Fabian's turn for his face to flush. 

-

Riz knew his friends. He knew they would be fighting over what to watch for at least thirty minutes when they decided it was movie night. It had been thirty eight when they finally agreed on something. Riz also knew that Fig and Adaine were conspiring in their own time. He first fully realized this when they chose their seats for the movie. 

Kristen and Tracker had opted to sprawl out on the floor, borrowing some blankets and pillows from the fort. Gorgug and Ragh sat at one end of the couch, entangled with each other. Fig had crashed with Ayda in the middle. Adaine occupied the lone recliner off to the side. That left him with two options: sitting next to Fabian, or being an asshole and sitting on the floor. So of course, Riz chose the former.

Curled up in a blanket, Riz took his seat next to Fabian. He could barely believe his situation. It hadn't even been a day since he confirmed Fig and Adaine's suspicions but they were already playing him like Fig's bass. He felt... exhausted. He could barely pay attention to the movie at all. Before he knew it, he was asleep.

He only really noticed he'd succumbed to slumber when the all encompassing darkness returned. It was the same as last time, except for a few things. He felt a comforting warmth pressed against his side, but nothing was there in his weird dream space. He also heard a constant humming. It reminded him of a freezer, a solid buzz that didn't change. 

The darkness around him began to shift. Solid black slithered over his limbs, slowly moving it's way up his torso. It was extremely cold, making him shiver as soon as it touched his skin. He really didn't like this.

"Riz Gukgak," rumbled the same voice as before, "you have messed with forces you should not have." 

"Who are you?" Riz asked the dark, trying to make his voice not shake. The black shadows continued to crawl up his body, slipping around his arms and chest. 

"I am pure darkness. I am the void where all banished souls venture," the voice told him. "I am rising, Riz Gukgak, and you shall be my vessel." 

Riz choked as the darkness tightened on his throat. The warm feeling at his side pulsed before vanishing completely. His vision began to go spotty as his lungs stopped taking in air. He was dying. He felt his body going ice cold. He scratched at his throat, but his fingers only found his skin. 

A sudden heat spread across his cheek, to his neck, and down to his shoulder. The warmth filled his entire being, fighting off the cold and making his black bindings shatter. His eyes shot open as he finally started to breath again. He still felt that warm feeling on his face. 

"Riz, are you alright?" Fabian's voice asked seriously. 

Riz reached up, feeling the hand pressed to his cheek. He was still breathing quickly. He could barely comprehend any of the things around him. What he definitely knew was that someone's hand was on his face, so he latched on. He needed that anchor. 

"Hey, look at me-Riz. Focus on me," Fabian told him, squeezing his hand tightly. 

He blinked, eyes forward. Somebody's chest. Fabian's chest. He looked up. Fabian's eye. Filled with concern. Riz reached out to feel him, make sure he was there. His free hand latched onto Fabian's arm. He was there. He leaned forward, hiding his face in Fabian's chest. 

"You're okay," Fabian mumbled softly, pulling Riz into an embrace. "You're safe."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops totally didn't mean to shove you into your crush during this pillow fight it was an accident I promise


	5. The Friendship Void

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fabian helps a friend. Adaine shares a theory. Kristen visits the library.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before the chapter, I wanted to say thank you all for the comments and kudos! It really makes me happy to see that people are enjoying my story! I hope I'm keeping you interested ;)

Fabian felt Riz shaking in his arms. He knew that look of fear. He recognized when someone was having a nightmare. The movie was just ending when he initially felt Riz stir in his sleep. He had started to shake and whimper. Fabian tried to wake him up, but he was clearly too late. 

He scanned his eyes over his friends. They were all staring, clearly just as concerned as he was. Adaine climbed out of her chair. She nodded her head towards the fort. Fabian nodded, he understood. He picked Riz up, blanket and all, and carried him into the fort. He left the others in the central hub to find one of the side sections. He sat down, Riz still clinging to his t-shirt. 

"What's wrong?" he asked quietly, holding Riz a little bit tighter. 

"I-I just... had a n-nightmare," Riz answered shakily, gradually loosening his grip on Fabian. "It felt... a-a lot more... real th-than most..." 

Fabian let him fall away. His hands had let go of Fabian's shirt to ball up the blanket in his fists. He still kept close, keeping an arm around Riz's shoulders. Riz sighed and leaned into him heavily. 

"Is... Is there anything I can do to help?" Fabian asked quietly. 

"Just... stay here?" Riz requested, almost as if he was expecting Fabian to say no.

"Of course I will," Fabian answered. 

He felt Riz relax as he exhaled. He sadly rested his chin on top of Riz's head. He'd... never seen Riz like this before. He didn't expect him to be so plagued by nightmares. He always seemed relatively... stable. He wanted to do all he could now to help Riz through this.

Fabian felt awful. He should've noticed sooner. He'd let Riz rest against his side while he slept. He was right there. Why hadn't he noticed Riz was having a nightmare? He could have done something. Anything. His heart ached with the lost potential and having to see Riz so broken down. 

He stayed awake with Riz, waiting until he could fall asleep again. He watched his eyes flutter, fighting the urge to close. Fabian ran his fingers through his hair. He wanted to let him know that he was safe. With his own body threatening him with exhaustion, he watched as Riz finally fell back asleep. Fabian barely smiled before letting sleep take him as well.

-

Gorgug rubbed his eyes, staring down at his crystal on the floor. Zelda had texted him a while ago asking about the storm and if they were okay. He was waiting for a response back as Fig and Adaine whispered to each other. 

He glanced up at Ragh and asked quietly, "Do you think he'll be okay?" 

"Yeah, I think so," Ragh answered. "Fabian'll look after him." 

Gorgug sighed, glancing back down at his crystal. He watched the ellipses bounce before it was replaced with a message. 

**Zelda <3 [1:23 AM]**

Glad to know you're okay, how are the others?

**Georjudge [1:23 AM]**

managing, I guess

**Zelda <3 [1:24 AM]**

Is something wrong? What happened?

**Georjudge [1:24 AM]**

Riz had a pretty bad nightmare, but I think he'll be okay

**Zelda <3 [1:24 AM]**

I'm so sorry

My thoughts are with you guys <3

**Georjudge [1:24 AM]**

thanks <3

He clicked off his crystal and flipped it face down. Fig was nodding now as Adaine told her something. Kristen bounced her leg anxiously, head tilted back. 

"Do you think we should... do something?" she asked the air. 

"I think we should leave it to Fabian. Too many people trying to help would be overwhelming," Tracker whispered. 

Gorgug pulled his knees to his chest, hiding the bottom of his face in his arms. He felt Ragh put an arm around his shoulders and hummed in acknowledgement. Fig turned away from Adaine, shoulders slumped slightly. She pulled a blanket over her head, but he didn't think it had the intended effect given her horns. Adaine exhaled through her nose and rubbed one of her eyes under her glasses. 

"I think... we all need to talk," she said hesitantly. 

"About what?" Kristen asked warily. 

"About Riz," Adaine whispered. She shuffled a bit closer to the others before continuing, "I have... noticed a few things, as of late, but only one is important right now. I noticed at the fireworks yesterday something rather strange." Adaine steepled her hands, taking a moment before saying, "I watched Riz's shadow detach from his body."

Gorgug paused, eyes shooting open. He asked, "What does that mean?"

"I'm... not sure," Adaine answered, slumping a bit. "I think it might have something to do with his nightmare? Possibly?" 

"We already solved the Nightmare King mystery, and that was Cassandra," Kristen mumbled. "Do you think she'd know anything?"

"It wouldn't hurt to ask," Tracker shrugged. 

Kristen sighed, "Okay... I'm gonna try something." She tipped backwards and disappeared under a blanket. 

"Well... what should we do?" Gorgug asked, lifting his head a bit. 

"I... don't know," Adaine admitted, grabbing a pillow and hugging it to her chest. "I think we should wait. See what happens, keep an eye open. If we can get through this week without anything awful happening... that'd be a miracle." 

"I don't wanna make a big deal out of this," Fig grumbled.

"We won't," Adaine agreed. "We should keep this between ourselves."

"I would like to do more research before coming to any conclusions," Ayda backed. 

With a sigh, Gorgug leaned into Ragh. Everything about what just happened left a bad taste in his mouth. He felt rattled, like he'd been the one who'd just had a horrifying experience. Curse his empathy. He hoped Riz was okay. 

Kristen shot up from under her blanket, eyes wide. She sprung up on her knees, hands on Tracker's shoulders. 

"I got some answers," she started, the words pouring out of her, "they're really not good answers, but I have them." 

Adaine swallowed, squeezing the pillow a little tighter. She said hesitantly, "Well?"

"Riz is... in danger," she confirmed, hating every second that she had to say it, "but we can help him... somehow. I didn't get specifics. The last thing was, um... what's threatening him is, uh, extremely powerful."

"Did you get how... powerful...?" Fig asked fearfully. 

"I think it was... almost Nightmare King levels," Kristen told them regretfully. 

Gorgug fully hid his face in his arms. This was so bad. This was so terribly, horribly bad. 

"Then we just have to stop it before it's too late," Adaine hurried to create a solution. "If we can purge this thing out of him before it takes over, we should be in the clear." 

"We can probably do something about that," Tracker said, gesturing between her and Kristen. 

"Adaine and I can very much do some research on beings like the Nightmare King," Ayda added.

"But we should keep this-" Gorgug pressed downward with his hands, "-kinda quiet, yeah? Don't wanna jumpstart something too soon?"

"I think so," Adaine agreed with a nod. She patted the pillow that was now in her lap and said, "Before anything, I think we need to sleep."

They all quickly dispersed throughout the pillow fort. Gorgug felt his crystal vibrate as he curled up under some blankets. It had one final text from Zelda.

**Zelda <3 [1:48 AM]**

Goodnight, Gorgug

**Georjudge [1:49 AM]**

goodnight Zelda

-

Kristen was eating a granola bar when Fabian came up from the basement. She'd woken up early, despite all odds, to a clear blue sky. After last night, she kinda wished it was still raining. The summer vibe wasn't as strong as it used to be.

Fabian plopped down in a chair across from where she stood, grabbing a banana from a bowl on the island. Kristen continued to munch on her granola bar, wondering if she should bother to say anything at all. She wasn't sure if mentioning her revelation to Fabian was a thing she should do. They had some vague idea of a plan, but he wasn't there when they discussed it. She had no idea if they even wanted him to know. 

"I was thinking," Fabian started, halfway through his banana, "that we could go hiking today. Maybe... camp out in the woods, or something." 

Kristen hummed, swallowing her last bite of granola bar, "I like that idea. We should bring it up to the others. Whenever they get up." 

She crumpled up the wrapper and tossed it in the trash bin. God, not telling Fabian felt weird. Still, she didn't know what the rest of the group wanted, so she'd wait. 

"How was Riz this morning?" Kristen asked quietly, genuinely concerned but also looking for something else to say. 

"Ah, he-he was all right," Fabian answered, finishing his banana. He got up to throw away the peel and said, "He seemed to be sleeping okay. I'm-I'm still a bit worried, though." 

"I am, too," Kristen admitted, clasping her hands together. "Seeing him... like that, was really jarring. I've never seen Riz so shaken. And he literally almost got sacrificed by demons." 

Fabian shook his head. He slid his hand across the counter as he left. He sighed and said, "Yeah... I'm gonna go make sure everything's still okay."

Kristen nodded and watched him leave. She groaned and slid herself across the island once she heard the basement door close. They needed to find a solution to this. Hopefully as fast as possible. In that spirit, Kristen decided to do something she would normally never do. She decided to visit the library.

She knew Hallariel's library housed all sorts of books from Fallinel. She had no clue if any of them would be of any help to her now, but she could try. Kristen pushed into the library with determination in her heart. She took to the shelves and started searching. What was she looking for? She didn't exactly know. She hoped that would come to her as she saw some titles. 

There was a lot of specifics to Elven history. She didn't really think that's what she was going for. And she really didn't want to read that. There were sections on wars and family history and religion. Part of her wanted to look for more info about Cassandra, but that desire was smushed when she noticed a book missing from that shelf. Taking a glance around the library, she noticed a pile of books left out on a study table. 

_Religious Secrets_ definitely seemed like a solid book to check out. Flipping through the pages, she found a section marked by a piece of paper. The scrawl across the lines was so tight and packed together it could only be Riz's handwriting. He'd written bullet points and connected them to others with arrows. He notated with question marks and quotations. It was so very Riz it made it impossible to believe he could ever put a coherent thought together. 

Kristen slid away the paper to read the marked page. Her eyes were first drawn to a very unsettling illustration. Arms reaching out from a pool of darkness. Not very encouraging. The second thing her eyes were drawn to was a title: _The Void of the Damned_. Riz already seemed to be on the right track. Which meant... he'd already had nightmares like those before. Kristen shivered and shifted her attention to the text. 

The passage delved into the purpose of this _Void of the Damned_. It referenced it as "the place where all lost and tortured souls go to waste away in limbo". The darkness continued into eternity for any who entered it's realm. If you were trapped there, there was no hope for return. You would waste away in darkness, dissolving until you were one with the void. Anyone who invoked its name too often or knew too much would be pulled down into its depths. 

Kristen felt a chill roll down her spine. This was nothing like Cassandra. This seemed like there was no chance of something good being hidden underneath. Is this what was plaguing Riz? Void of the Damned sounded much worse than they were hoping for. If this was what was giving him nightmares and disconnecting his shadow from his body, they suddenly had a much taller plate. Could her and Tracker handle something like this?

"Kristen, there you are," Riz's voice said behind her. 

She jumped, scrambling to shove Riz's notes back in their spot and shutting the book. She grabbed another book on the table and spun around.

"Oh! Riz! Hey!" she started. "What's up?"

"I came to get my book," Riz said slowly, walking up beside her. He picked up _Religious Secrets_ and asked, "What brings you to the library?"

"Oh, you know, just some-" she glanced at the title of the book she was holding, "- _Ancient Elven Magic_."

"Adaine was reading that the other day," Riz told her, nodding towards the book in her hands.

"Yeah, she suggested it to me, actually," Kristen made up her excuse. "Thought I'd come by and pick it up." 

"Well, I'm glad you're giving it a try," Riz acknowledged. He pointed over his shoulder and said, "Everyone's in the kitchen, don't wanna keep them waiting."

"Yeah yeah, of course," Kristen agreed, following Riz out of the library.

She looked down at _Ancient Elven Magic_ and exhaled through her nose. What were they gonna do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo... about that nightmare stuff...


	6. Things That Don't Belong to You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Bad Kids take a hike. Riz loses touch. Fabian saves a life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops all Riz!

The summer heat was substantially less sweltering in the forest. The tall trees and cluttered canopy blocked out the sun, casting a cool shade across the path. That didn't mean Riz wasn't sweating his ass off. He was used to the legwork private eyes had to do, not full on hiking trails. At least he wasn't the only one struggling. Adaine definitely felt it the most. While huffed her way up the trail, Kristen and Fig offered their support. 

Riz mostly stared down at his feet, holding the straps of his backpack tight. He focused on keeping control of his breath and not tripping on the stray root or rock. He tried not to dwell on his nightmare. This was supposed to be their vacation. His friends were right, he needed to chill out. This didn't need to bother him right now. He decided to lose those thoughts in Fabian and Cathilda's conversation instead. 

"It's been ages since we've hiked up this way, hasn't it?" he heard Fabian ask.

"Yes, you were barely twelve the last time I brought you up here," Cathilda reminisced, sighing happily. "It's wonderful to come here again with all your friends." 

"This is the best way to see it, after all," Fabian nodded. 

"To see what?" Riz shoved himself into the conversation.

"You'll see soon enough, we're almost there," Fabian told him, looking over his shoulder at the others. He called out, "Gonna make it, Adaine?" 

"Fuck off, Fabian," Adaine replied, breathing heavily. 

"I'll carry you, if you want," Gorgug offered. 

"I'll make it," she huffed determinedly. 

The uphill climb gradually began to flatten out. Riz could finally start to see the horizon ahead of them. The trees parted to give way to a rocky cliff. A river ran by and poured down the side, creating a sparkling waterfall with a large pool at it's base. The river's shore was covered in pebbles, up until it reached the tree line. The forest stretched out around them, completing the almost magical feel of this serene place. 

"Wow," Riz breathed, staring out over the cliff's edge. He leaned a little further, staring down the waterfall's path. Everything here was gorgeous. 

"Be careful, would you?" Fabian huffed, pulling Riz back by his waist. "We don't need an accident on this trip." 

"How do you guys even know about this place?" Fig asked, running up to the ledge. 

"Bill used to hike up here with his crew and throw parties old pirates could only dream of having," Cathilda chuckled. "Oh, those were the days." 

Riz could only imagine what a party headed by Bill Seacaster and attended by his crew would look like. From what he knew of how chaotic Bill was, he wondered if it was somehow worse in his younger days. Fabian's arms left his waist to tug Fig back by her backpack. He wondered if Fabian had ever seen any of those parties. It wasn't exactly hard to believe. He was sure Bill would love to see his son partying hard. 

"Well, why don't we head down and get ready for lunch?" Cathilda prompted, putting some pep in her step and heading towards the cliff face. 

Riz followed close behind Fabian as they made their way down a natural staircase. It was steep and a little hard to navigate, but they all ended up okay at the bottom. Adaine collapsed on the gravel bank, leaning back against her backpack. Riz slid his own bag off his shoulders and followed her example. He now started to realize how much his legs hurt. Walking by, Fig leaned down to rest her arms on his head. 

"Tired already? We still have to set up camp," she said, wobbling her head side to side. 

"I know that," Riz replied defensively, leaning back to look at her. 

"Why don't you help Fabian set up the tents? I'm sure he could use a hand," Fig winked, quickly retreating from Riz's reach. She ran off, calling back to him, "I'm gonna help Cathilda with lunch!" 

Riz stuck his tongue out at her as she ran away. He sighed, he supposed he should do something to help out. He stood and brushed the dirt off his hands. He could see Fabian from where he was, slamming pegs into the ground with a hammer. Riz wasn't sure if he'd be much help in this situation, but he could try. 

He leaned over Fabian's shoulder and asked, "Need any help?" 

"Uhh wanna get started on the next tent?" Fabian prompted, glancing up at him as he mashed the peg into the ground. 

"Sure thing," Riz answered, patting Fabian's shoulder as he slipped away. 

It took him a bit to understand how tents worked. He and his mom had gone "camping" in their living room when he was younger. That meant eating microwaved s'mores under a small blanket hut while his mom told ghost stories with a flashlight. He didn't know how all the actual stuff worked. He nearly hammered his hand twice before Fabian was next to him, shoulders touching, to show him what to do. Riz did intake the information, but that didn't mean he wasn't slightly distracted by the way their hands barely brushed as Fabian directed him. Mostly, he was surprised Fabian knew how to do these kinds of things. There was always more to learn, he guessed. 

By the time they had finished tent setup, everyone else had finished their chores. They were splashing around in the bank of the river, the water barely rising past their ankles. Adaine and Ayda were crouched in the water, picking out stones and showing them to each other. Fig, Tracker, Kristen, Gorgug, and Ragh were having some sort of splash fight. As they approached, Ragh kicked a wave their way. Riz jumped back to dodge the splash, but it wasn't heading his way in the first place. Fig dove forward, landing on her ass in the shallows, to block the spray from hitting Ayda and Adaine. 

"Was it worth it?" Adaine asked helplessly through giggles.

"Absolutely," Fig answered, leaning heavily into Ayda's lap. She tilted her head back and pointed up to Fabian, "Take my place! I'm good down here." 

"Well, if you insist," Fabian shrugged. A smile spread across his face as he charged forward, kicking a wave in Ragh's direction. 

Riz waded out into the water, merely watching his friends drench themselves. He wasn't sure he could ever fully understand their chaos-how they all meshed together. He only became friends with them because Ragh dunked him in a trashcan on their first day as freshmen. That's never an ideal way to make friends, but here he was, watching his best friends splash each other relentlessly with river water. 

He'd never forget all they'd done for him. 

"C'mon, Riz, you joinin' or what?" Ragh called. 

Before he had a chance to decline, Fig's foot connected with his calf. She told him, "Go have some fun, string bean." 

He rolled his eyes, but quickly joined the others deeper in the water. He was instantly bombarded by waves by both Kristen and Fabian. Gorgug came to his aid at holding them off. Tracker and Ragh were having their own battle not too far away. Riz was already soaked to the bone. Then again, so was nearly everyone else. Would he regret this later? Maybe, probably not. They'd all be freezing together. That's what mattered. 

Riz stumbled backwards, kicking up waves as Kristen boldly charged forward. He was doomed if this kept up. He'd end up on his ass like Fig. He brought his arms up to block another wave when he heard a screech. He peeked through his barrier to see Fabian turning on Kristen. Riz, bolstered by the aid, helped tame Kristen's water-based rampage. 

"Don't team up on my girlfriend!" Tracker interjected, ambushing them with Ragh now on her side. 

Riz and Fabian were quickly overwhelmed. He did, in fact, end up on his ass. A large splash in front of him blinded him briefly. As his eyes adjusted to the sudden change in light, he could see the silhouette of someone on top of him. His heart stopped when he started making out Fabian's features. He was laughing with water dripping down his face. The half heart best friends necklace hanging from his neck glinted in the afternoon sun. Riz swallowed deeply and hoped his face wasn't too flushed. 

Fabian smiled, eye lidded, and asked happily, "You okay?"

"I-I'm alright," Riz responded, stumbling over his words. "Are you?" 

"I'm wonderful," Fabian answered, arms on either side of Riz's hips. 

Out of Riz's earshot, Fig lightly smacked Adaine on the shoulder and said, "Look, I didn't even have to do anything." 

-

Riz, now warm in his pajamas, sat at the fire with the rest of his friends. He watched Fig make Ayda her first s'more, the half-phoenix enjoying every second of it. Ragh chubby-bunnied toasted marshmallows until Gorgug made him stop (he got to 17). Kristen told them scary stories until Adaine couldn't take it anymore. On her way past him with a fresh bag of marshmallows, Fig nudged him with her elbow.

"Nice moves today, champ," she said, wiggling her eyebrows. 

Riz stole a marshmallow, popped it in his mouth, gave her a quick middle finger and a loving, "Fuck off." 

Fig cackled and continued on her way. He watched as his friends slowly trickled off to sleep in their respective tents. As more people left the ring, the less Riz wanted to head to bed. He was scared to sleep. The threat of another nightmare looming over his head made the thought incredibly intimidating. Eventually it was just him and Fabian watching the fire crackle down to nearly nothing. He sighed, forcing his eyes open every time they started to close.

Fabian was staring into the low burning fire, light from the flames dancing across his face. Riz hid a sigh in his blanket and briefly shut his eyes. He was in deep. This trip had given him no help in suppressing his emotions. He was more aware of his crush on Fabian more than ever. It was becoming a serious issue, especially since Fig and Adaine were on his case now. He wondered if he should just give up. 

Riz froze. Something wasn't right. Maybe he was just paranoid, but... it definitely felt like someone was watching him. The chills he felt crawl up his spine were unnatural. He peered over his shoulder into the darkness between the trees. His eyes had to be playing tricks on him. They had to be. There was no way he actually saw those eyes glaring out at him from the dark forest. He shrunk himself deeper in his blanket. The eyes followed his movements. They blinked slowly, and as they opened again another pair appeared to their left. Those eyes blinked and more appeared above them. Something was watching him, waiting for him to make a move. 

"Riz, are you alright?" Fabian asked, leaning over to follow his line of sight.

He jumped, blinked, and the eyes were gone. He dug his nails into the ground and nodded. He finally stuttered, "Y-Yeah I think I'm just tired." 

"Then you should sleep," Fabian reasoned. Riz turned, meeting his eye. It only took a moment for Fabian's gaze to soften. He whispered, "You're scared to sleep, aren't you?" 

Riz didn't say anything. In truth, it did frighten him. Ashamed of himself, he looked away. He closed his eyes when Fabian gently took his hand. 

"I know what it's like. You saw me. But this isn't like last time," Fabian asserted him. He pulled Riz to his feet and promised, "I won't let anything happen to you." 

"Thank you," Riz whispered. His crush aside, hearing that made him feel calmer. He didn't really know how much Fabian could do, but knowing he'd try was enough. 

Fabian lead him into the last unoccupied tent. Riz curled up in his sleeping bag, shutting his eyes tight. Nothing was gonna happen. He desperately wanted to will it into existent. He felt Fabian press against his back. He felt his head lean into the nape of his neck. 

"Goodnight, Riz," he said quietly.

"Goodnight, Fabian."

Riz, more exhausted than he thought, fell asleep pretty much right then. He knew he was already back in his nightmare world. He felt the cool, black tendrils curling around his body. His breathing rapidly began to pick up.

"Are you ready to hand yourself over, Riz Gukgak?" the voice asked. 

"No, never," Riz answered, steadier than he would have thought. 

"You do not understand what you are putting at stake," the voice told him. 

"I won't let you do what you want," he declared. 

Silence. A silence so absolute he heard himself swallow. With a blink of his eyes, he was awake. Or, so he thought. He soon realized that he was standing above his own body. Looking down at his hands, he saw they were transparent. He'd been kicked out of his own body. 

His body's eyes opened. Riz jumped back, biting back a scream. His eyes were pure black. His body crawled out of the sleeping bag, easily leaving Fabian behind. As it headed to leave the tent, Riz dropped to his knees at Fabian's side. He went to shake his shoulders, but his hands passed right through. 

"Come on, Fabian, please wake up!" Riz urged, trying to reach out over and over again. His hands continued to faze through Fabian, no matter what he tried. He groaned and followed his body out of the tent. 

His corpse had left the circle of tents, heading towards the cliff. The crash of the waterfall filled his ears as they got closer and closer. Riz ran ahead, aiming to push against his body. His hands connected, but it didn't seem like he was even there. His feet slid across the ground as if he were on ice. His hands pressed against his own shoulders, but all of his effort had no effect on his body. It was a movable force against an unstoppable object. 

Riz tumbled to the side as his body turned. It started to climb up the side of the cliff with more agility than Riz could manage. He stumbled after his occupied corpse, only covering half the distance. When he reached the top, his eyes landed on himself, standing at the edge of the cliff.

"Stop!" Riz yelled, running up to his body. 

"You cannot stop me," the voice said with his mouth. "Hand your soul over to me, or I will take it by force." 

"Who are you?" Riz asked, angry and wanting to know who to blame.

"Why, you've said my name plenty of times before, Riz Gukgak," the voice told him. "That's how I was able to enter your mortal body in the first place." 

Riz growled, temper reaching its limits. He charged forward with an angry yell. His body's leg lifted, stepping into the open air. He collided with his chest, only to be swung backwards. He felt a strong grip around his torso and heard heavy breathing that wasn't coming from him. He was back in his body. He looked up to see Fabian, glancing down and meeting his eyes. 

"What were you doing?!" he asked much too loudly. 

Frankly, Riz didn't care. He was too relieved to feel anything else. He regained his footing and slung his arms around Fabian's chest, hugging him tight. 

"I'm so glad you're here," he sighed. 

"And what? Watch you walk off the cliff?" Fabian suggested sarcastically. He took a breath and gave Riz a squeeze. He said, very relieved, "I'm glad I made it in time." Fabian paused, obviously contemplating something. He hesitantly asked, "What _were_ you doing up here?"

Riz laughed bitterly, "If I told you, you wouldn't believe me."

"I've seen plenty of strange things, Riz, you were with me for most of them," Fabian argued. 

"Fine," Riz said with a sigh. He turned his head to press his cheek against Fabian's chest. Hearing his heartbeat slowed his own. He admitted, "My body got taken over by my nightmare demon."

"Well," Fabian started, tilting his head to the side, "that doesn't sound too far off from things we've seen before."

"But this... this has malice. This has the true intent of killing me," Riz told him, feeling his hands start to shake. 

"I am not letting that happen," Fabian declared. He took Riz's face in his hands and made him look at him. Riz could see the moon reflecting in his worried and earnest eye. He emphasized, "I am _never_ letting that happen." 

Riz really didn't understand. All he could feel in the next couple moments was how much he loved Fabian Aramais Seacaster. He felt it when Fabian lifted him off his feet. He felt it when he latched his arms around Fabian's neck. He very much felt it when Fabian leaned forward to kiss him. It was all so strange to him. Of all the mysteries he'd solved, love was never a case he could crack. Still, with Fabian's lips on his, he thought he might be one step closer to figuring it out. 

Riz laughed as they came apart. He brought a hand to his face to wipe away tears he didn't realize had fallen. Fabian gently set him down and took his thumb across the other stream of tears rolling down Riz's face. 

"Thank you, Fabian," Riz said quietly. 

Fabian shook his head. He pulled Riz into another hug and mumbled, "It's nothing. I'll take care of you."

"That's a rough job," Riz jabbed, poking Fabian's chest. 

"Not for me," Fabian replied cooly, bending to rest his head on Riz's. "Not if it's you."

"When did you get so cool?" Riz asked tiredly. 

"I've always been cool," Fabian defended himself.

Riz didn't resist when Fabian picked him up again. He was so tired. He wanted a peaceful night's sleep. He had no clue if he'd ever get one, but he could hope. He held on to that thought and dug his head into Fabian's neck. His warmth was already lulling him to sleep. 

He made a noise when Fabian set him down once they were back in their tent. Fabian dropped to the ground next to him and said, "Chill out, I'm coming."

Fabian laid down next to him, yawning loudly. He pulled Riz to his chest and dug his nose in his hair. 

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do this," Fabian mumbled. 

"I think I do," Riz laughed lightly. 

"You had a crush on me? How embarrassing," he replied, smiling into Riz's scalp. 

"You just kissed me under the moonlight, how could I not?" 

"You make a fair point." 

Riz yawned, rubbing at his eyes. He pulled his blanket closer to his chin and curled up tight. He could smell and hear and feel Fabian next to him. He wasn't sure what they were, exactly. What he could be sure of was that Fig and Adaine were right. Fabian liked him, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The boys are kissing!!!!


	7. The Party Planning Committee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kristen makes her case. Adaine isn't afraid. Gilear doesn't know what's coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY OKAY I PROMISE SOME SHENANIGANS

Kristen shoved her head into Adaine's tent and announced, "So... we have a problem."

Fig, Ayda, and Adaine, looked up as one. They were scanning a pile of books when she entered. It seemed they all had the same issue lingering at the back of their minds. She and Tracker joined the already kinda cramped tent circle. Kristen spread _Ancient Elven Magic_ across her lap and stared dejectedly at it's pages.

Adaine pointed at her book and asked, "Did you... go to the library?"

"Yeah, I ran into Riz there and had to grab something to seem less suspicious so I had to take this and make it seem like I was actually reading," Kristen explained. "But that's not what matters. What matters is what I found."

"What information did you find?" Ayda asked, intrigued. 

"So, Riz is already one step ahead of us," Kristen reported, tapping her book. "He had a book called _Religious Secrets_. He had a page marked with a whole ass sheet of notes. It was something about a Void of the Damned. Apparently it's some entity-place-thing that kinda, like, eats souls? Wastes them away to nothing?"

"Well, that's not very good..." Adaine trailed off. "I'm not surprised Riz is already ahead of us, though." 

"I know. If Riz is being, like, possessed by this thing, what do we do?" Kristen asked, hoping anyone had an answer. 

She looked around the circle. Tracker was staring at her hands, lost in thought. Fig was looking to Ayda, who had on her serious thinking face. Adaine tapped her chin, obviously racking her brain for anything she might have heard or read somewhere. Suddenly, she snapped her fingers and gazed up at them all. 

"Kristen, hand me that book," she ordered, making grabby hands her direction. Kristen eagerly obliged. She watched Adaine flip through the pages as she continued talking, "I read this book when me and Riz were at the library. It had a different rendition of the Magic Circle spell. The effects are basically the same, but have more power. We can use that version of the spell to exorcise Riz."

"Holy shit," Kristen breathed. She turned to Tracker and grabbed her hands. She asked, almost excited, "Ready to do our first exorcism?" 

Tracker met her question with a grin and answered, "I'm ready to try." 

"What do we need for this circle?" Fig asked, leaning over Adaine's shoulder. 

Adaine squinted at the text. She announced, "Holy water or powdered silver and iron worth at least 100 gold." 

"Didn't bring the holy water on vacation, sadly," Tracker sighed.

"There has to be some things worth at least 100 gold in Fabian's house, right?" Kristen reasoned. "I'm sure he'd be willing to part with it to save Riz's life." 

"Where would we perform this ritual? I imagine the location would be very important," Ayda pointed out. 

"I'd say the basement. Somewhere he can't get out of easily," Adaine stated. "Plus, it takes a minute to cast the spell. We'd either have to keep him in place for a minute, or bring him in as it's finishing. The circle does last for an hour, so I guess we have time, but... I don't wanna risk it." 

"I think taking the quickest course to action would be the best idea," Tracker agreed, nodding slowly. 

Kristen flashed back to that morning. She remembered how distressed Fabian had seemed. She brought a thumb to her lips, seriously wondering about bringing up her concerns. Luckily for her, Tracker was quick to notice her discomfort. 

"What's up?" she asked, squeezing her hand. 

"Fabian," she mumbled, "what do we tell him? He wasn't there for our whole conversation. And he seemed so worried! I don't know if I wanna leave him out."

Adaine and Fig shared a look. Kristen tried to understand what that meant. Tracker and Ayda seemed clueless. Slowly, Kristen connected the dots. She slammed her hands on the floor of the tent.

"Holy shit no way," she said lowly. 

"We should just say it," Adaine said, voice full of dread. 

"I... I think you're right," Fig sighed. "Man, I really wanted to keep my promise."

"Riz likes Fabian?!" Kristen whispered loudly. 

Adaine exhaled heavily and nodded. She mumbled, "Yeah... It was supposed to be a secret, but I don't think we should leave it out of this conversation."

"And we think Fabian most likely likes him back," Fig added. "Seems pretty reinforced by what you said." 

"So... what are you saying?" Ayda asked. 

"I'm saying we should tell Fabian," Adaine clarified. "He deserves to know what we plan to do. And if he does like Riz the same way... then we'll have to deal with that as it comes."

Their plan development didn't get very far. They mostly decided on distracting Riz while Kristen and Tracker got to casting the Magic Circle. How that was to be done was still up for debate. Adaine wanted to tell Gorgug and Ragh before deciding on anything final. There were too many uncertainties. 

Kristen and Tracker retreated to their own tent, which they were sharing with Cathilda. By the time she hunkered down in her own sleeping bag, the cruddy feeling in Kristen's stomach had mellowed out. At least she didn't have to hide anything from Fabian anymore. What felt worse was knowing that she had to tell him. 

-

Waking up early, packing, and hiking back down the trail tired Adaine quickly. This time, she did allow herself to be carried by Gorgug when she felt her knees start to wobble. It relieved her aching legs but also gave her time to tell him and Ragh about what was happening. She hung her head over Gorgug's shoulder to watch them process the information. All around, not many good signs.

"So... what are we gonna do?" Ragh asked. 

"I need you two and Fig and Ayda to keep Riz distracted," Adaine elaborated. "I'll be in the basement with Kristen, Tracker, and Fabian while the spell is being cast."

"But he doesn't know anything about this yet?" Gorgug questioned, tilting his head toward the front of the group. 

Fabian walked at the front of the pack, side by side with Cathilda. Riz followed closely behind. They looked to be deep in conversation, about what Adaine couldn't catch. Being at the back of the group allowed them to talk pretty freely, so she couldn't be too upset. 

"Nope," Adaine answered, "but we do want him to know. We'll tell him soon enough." 

The Hangvan soon came into view. They left the tree line and Adaine once again had to use her legs. She was helping load their things into the back of the van when Cathilda's crystal began to ring. After a few moments of conversation, she turned back to them. 

"That was Hallariel, she just enlisted our help with something," she reported. 

"And what would that be?" Fabian asked, shutting the trunk. 

"She wants to set up a surprise party for Gilear. Apparently, it's his birthday," Cathilda answered.

"It's Gilear's birthday?!" Fig exclaimed, mouth dropping open.

"He's one of your dads and you don't know his birthday?" Adaine questioned. 

"Nobody ever told me!" Fig excused herself. 

"Well, now is the time to celebrate," Cathilda said, patting Fig's arm. 

"Y'know what? You're right Cathilda!" Fig agreed, confidence restored. "I'm gonna make sure Gilear has the best birthday ever!" 

Eventually, they all piled into the Hangvan and headed out. Hallariel would be distracting Gilear as much as was humanly possible while the rest of them got ready for the party. This required a grocery stop in town and more shenanigans than Adaine was willing to deal with. 

She'd followed the others into the section for party decorations while Cathilda got the ingredients to bake a cake. She begrudgingly held out a basket while Fig dumped in balloons. Fig scanned the shelves, eyes lighting up as she spotted something. She reached up and showed Adaine her discovery: gold foil balloons shaped like letters. 

"What's the plan with those?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"You'll see," Fig answered smugly, dropping the letters "H", "E", "L", "Y", and "A" in the basket. 

Down the aisle, she could see Ragh crowning Fabian with one of those inflatable crowns. What was he the king of? She'd never care enough to ask. Gorgug and Riz were looking at actual party decorations and supplies. They were picking out streamers and party poppers and noise makers. It all eventually ended up in Adaine's basket. They headed to the counter with an abundance of balloons, streamers, party favors, and a generic "Happy Birthday!" banner. 

She dumped their items on a checkout line and left it to one of the rich kids to pay. She joined the others outside the store, crouched in front of a series of little capsule machines. There were all sorts of little toys and things to get for only two copper pieces. 

"Adaine, please look at this tiny, squishy frog," Ayda called her attention, holding out the babiest frog toy she'd ever seen. "I would like you to have it. I think you would enjoy it." 

Adaine, mouth wide, gently took the frog in her hands. It was so cute. It had the tiniest eyes and the sweetest smile of anything she'd ever seen. 

"I will cherish this forever," she said in one breath. 

"I'm glad you like my gift," Ayda smiled. 

"I absolutely love it."

"Oh! Ayda! I got you something," Fig jumped in, digging her hand into a side pocket of her backpack. She ripped out a RingPop, strawberry flavor, and quickly popped open the wrapper. She took Ayda's hand and slid the candy on her finger. She explained, "It's candy you can wear! It's like if a sucker was on your finger. I wanted to give it to you."

Ayda's eyes began to fill with fiery tears. She looked down at the ring then back up at Fig. She asked, "What does this mean? Are we married now?" 

Fig opened her mouth, shut it, contemplated this, then turned to Kristen, "Hey Kris, could you marry me and Ayda?" 

"Yeah I think so," Kristen responded, looking up from her orange sherbert push pop, "why?"

"Cause I think I really wanna marry Ayda," Fig answered simply.

"I would also really like to marry Fig," Ayda added. 

"Uh, maybe we should wait on that a bit longer," Tracker suggested, putting a halting hand on Kristen's shoulder.

Fig frowned, but she never did that for long, so she quickly turned to Ayda with that mischievous glint in her eyes. 

"Then consider this a promise," she said, taking Ayda's RingPop-ed hand. "That I promise to marry you someday." 

The fiery tears really started to pour from Ayda's eyes. Even Adaine felt choked up. 

"Wow," Ayda began, "I've never felt so many things at once. A lot of it is love. So much of it is love. Can I kiss you?" 

"Of course you can," Fig laughed.

Adaine almost felt like clapping. It was like the happy ending of a coming-of-age teen movie. All of her friends were so happy in their relationships. She didn't know if she'd ever have a relationship with someone, if she'd ever even want one, at that. Being different from her friends... what was so bad about that? She'd deal with her feelings as they came.

Fabian and Cathilda emerged from the grocery store, bags slung across their arms. She joined Riz in helping carry some of their purchases. There was absolutely no room in the trunk, so they all dispersed the bags around their feet or in their lap. Embarrassingly, Adaine fell asleep in the car. Even more embarrassing, Fig took pictures of her resting her head against Gorgug's shoulder. She only figured that out when she saw she was tagged in a new post. Whatever the case, she had to deal with her face flushing as she read her friends' comments about how cute it was. If anything, she was glad to see it made Zelda happy. 

The Seacaster home was alive with energy that evening. Everyone was busy hanging streamers, blowing up balloons, and getting food ready. The air of excitement was something Adaine was grateful for. Still, part of her brain wouldn't let go of the nightmare thing. She desperately wished it would.

She was helping Fabian hang up the "Happy Birthday!" banner with her mage hand when it slipped back into her thoughts. She knew Riz was in the kitchen, barely helping Cathilda and Tracker with the cake. She could tell Fabian. She could tell him right now and it'd probably be fine. But she hesitated. 

She watched him finish tacking up the banner and climb off the dining room chair he'd been standing on. He came over to stand at her side and put his hands on his hips.

"There," he sighed, looking up at their results, "not half bad." 

She couldn't help herself, "Hey, Fabian? There's something we need to talk about." 

They'd taken opposite seats at the dining room table while Adaine explained. Fabian's gaze was focused on his hands when she finished. She sat there, anxiously squishing the small frog Ayda had given her, waiting for a response. She couldn't read his expression, no matter how hard she tried. He slowly steepled his hands in front of his mouth before speaking.

"So, this makes me feel like there's something you should know," he started, sounding like he was still questioning whether he should say what he was about to say. He took a breath and said, "I kissed Riz last night." 

Adaine crushed the innocent frog in her hand. She practically screeched, _"What?!"_

"Don't-Don't freak out!" Fabian urged, reaching across the table to grab Adaine's hands in a panic. "I-I can explain why this matters." 

"Please do," Adaine begged, dropping her head on the table. 

"So... this is gonna sound crazy... but Riz was kinda possessed," Fabian explained, truly as if he didn't expect Adaine to believe him. When she didn't say anything, he continued, "He told me that whatever thing is haunting his dreams took control of his body. And I'm quite inclined to believe that because I don't think Riz would willingly walk off a cliff." 

Adaine's heart jumped to her throat. Her head snapped up to meet Fabian's gaze. She didn't want to know how scared she looked. She could see it in his eye. This wasn't a joke or a lie. Fabian saw this happen. 

"It's okay," Fabian insisted, squeezing Adaine's hands tighter. "I'll-I'll take care of him... promise." 

Adaine nodded, sucking in a breath. She couldn't freak out. She didn't want to be afraid anymore. She swallowed her fear and focused herself once again.

"Okay," she breathed, loosening her grip on Fabian. "I trust you." 

"There you guys are!" Fig's voice shocked them apart. She looked back and forth between them before shrugging her shoulders and announcing, "Hallariel and Gilear are almost back. It's time for a surprise!" 

"Hopefully it doesn't kill him," Adaine mumbled, wiping her hands on her shorts as she stood up. 

Fabian chuckled, "That's what we should be worried about."

When the time came, everyone found hiding places around the living room and kitchen. Since it was still evening, they didn't get the bonus of having it be completely dark. They couldn't do a turn-on-the-lights-and-pop-out surprise, just a regular pop out surprise. Adaine heard the door open from her spot behind a big plush chair. She met eyes with Fig across the way, hidden behind the kitchen island. She couldn't help but return her excited smile. With a pop from Fig's party popper, they all exploded out of their hiding places.

_"Surprise!"_

"Oh, dear."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The One Where They Kill Gilear (Again)


	8. Spoons, S'mores, and Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riz plays to win. Fabian clears things up. Fig and Ragh race.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually kinda proud of this chapter, I really enjoyed writing it! I start college this week, so sorry if updates start to slow down. I won't be leaving this fic unfinished!!

Riz hid a laugh behind his hand. He heard Adaine cackle behind him and promptly fall back to the floor, laughing into her jacket. Gilear, who had walked in carrying a bouquet of flowers, had managed to get one shoved up his nose. They had surprised him so much _that_ somehow became possible. 

"Oh, darling," Hallariel mumbled, the corner of her lip twitching. 

"I'm alright," Gilear droned, somewhat nasally due to the flower clogging his nostril. He pulled the daisy out of his nose, causing a few petals to float to the floor. He sighed and said, "Nothing new for old Gilear."

Riz tried to ignore Adaine's snort and hid his face in his hands. He would feel so bad if he started to laugh. After that, the party really kicked off. Gilear wasn't too fond of Fig's "Hell Yeah" balloon arrangement, but dealt with it nonetheless. The cake Cathilda made was absolutely delicious, and Riz didn't expect anything less. 

Later, while walking past the living room coffee table, someone grabbed his hand. He was tugged down next to Fig, nearly spilling his drink everywhere. She eagerly tapped her fingers against the table and nudged his shoulder with hers. Fabian sat on the direct opposite side of the table, and Riz knew this was intentional. Fig, Fabian, Ragh, and Kristen were playing Spoons, and apparently he was going to join them. 

"You're joining the next round," Fig stated as Ragh beat Fabian out of snatching up the last spoon. 

"Sure, as if I have a choice," Riz laughed. 

Ragh was able to beat Kristen out of the last round. Fig shuffled and dealt the cards and the game was set. Riz didn't have much luck, he had four different cards. As they started sending around their cards, he felt a foot knock against his under the table. Catching Fabian's eye, he smiled in response to his smirk. He kicked Fabian's foot before returning his attention to his hand.

He managed to pick up two sevens to match his own. It seemed like someone else was hoarding the last card he needed. He almost picked up a new card before seeing Fig's hand snap across the table. Riz snatched up his own spoon quickly. Fabian and Ragh beat Kristen to the punch. 

"All kings, baby!" Fig announced, splaying her cards on the table.

"Who had the last seven?" Riz asked, showing off his triple sevens and lone four. 

"Me!" Kristen groaned, flipping her cards to show three fours and his last seven. "I was waiting for that!" 

"Oo, that's rough, Kris," Fabian sympathized. He laid down two twos, a jack, and a one. He sighed, "I wasn't even close." 

"Me neither, man," Ragh nodded, tossing two threes and two fives on the table. 

"Kris, will you watch over my spoon while I shuffle the cards?" Fig asked, pouty lip out and fluttering her eyelashes. 

"Fine," Kristen grumbled, grabbing the spoon from Fig's hand. 

After dealing the next hand, Riz knew he was in luck. He started off with two sixes. It wasn't long before he found his third six. He saw Ragh was picking up speed, he had to be close, too. That six sure needed to hurry up. He picked up his next card... and the deal was done. He nabbed a spoon first, quickly followed by Ragh and Fabian. 

"Aw, come on!" Fig groaned, dropping her cards to run her hands down her face. She was almost there too, with three jacks and a nine. 

"Sorry, honey, you gotta be quicker than that," Fabian teased, showing three ones and an eight. 

"You gotta stay on your toes!" Ragh added, tossing out three fours and a five. 

Fig begrudgingly gathered the cards and shuffled them again. Riz started with four different cards. Fantastic. He hoped the others had similar hands. Either way, he had to get looking. He got a matching one first, so he had his main goal. They continued to pass cards along. He had two ones and two sixes when he saw a glint in Fabian's eye. His hand whipped out, grabbing a spoon. Riz reached wildly, hoping he got there before Ragh. He ended up triumphant, holding his spoon aloft. 

"You're too fast, bro!" Ragh complained, scattering his cards on the table. 

"No time for whining, Ragh! It's time for the fated showdown," Fig commentated, scooping up the cards. 

"Don't you think that's a little dramatic?" Riz questioned, eyebrow raised. 

"Never," Fig answered smugly, dealing them each their four cards. 

Fabian picked up his cards and announced, "I won't be going easy on you." 

"It's a luck game, Fabian. But I'm still going to win," Riz countered, competitive spirit ignited. 

Riz felt good about this round. He started off with two threes. He watched the cards go by, waiting for anything to help him gain some ground. There-his third three. Only one more. This card game was way too intense, but that thought didn't make him want to win any less. He felt Fabian's foot bump into his again. He latched his ankle with Fabian's, somewhat nervously smirking behind his cards. He saw Fabian fluster in his peripherals. It might have been a bit mean, but Riz couldn't keep his heart from racing. 

He almost missed it, but the last three came into his hand. He dumped his loner card and grabbed the spoon between them. Fig was laughing and clapping beside him. Kristen whooped and pumped a fist in the air. Ragh patted Fabian's shoulder as he hid his red face in his hands. 

Fig wiped a tear from her eye and put a hand on Riz's shoulder. Still giggling, she asked, "God, Riz, what did you do to him?" 

He put a finger to his lips and said, "It's a secret." 

-

Fabian felt how hot his face was in his hands. He couldn't believe himself, getting so flustered over this. Of all things to mess with his head-footsie! Under the table! He sighed and dropped his hands from his face, hoping the red had drained.

"It's alright, bro, you did great," Ragh comforted, patting his shoulder.

"Thank you, Ragh, truly," Fabian laughed it off. He turned his attention across the table, "You've bested me, Riz." 

"Told you I'd win," Riz teased, spinning his newly acquired spoon on the table. 

Fabian laughed loudly, watching Riz act like a cool guy. He wanted to reach across the table and hold his hand. He wanted to talk to Riz about last night. About what they were going be. He wanted to tell him he loved him. 

"Fire's ready!" Adaine called, sticking her head inside through a glass sliding door. "Come get a s'more before we run out of marshmallows." 

Fabian watched Fig and Ragh lock eyes before making a breakneck speed dash to the door. He heard Adaine scream as the two barreled past. Kristen laughed and called after them as she got up, "Save some for the rest of us!" 

Fabian put his hands on his knees and pushed himself to his feet. He rounded the coffee table and offered Riz a hand. When Riz took it and got to his feet, Fabian held tight to his hand. 

"That was a dirty trick you played," Fabian said, smile dimming the effect of any fake hurt in his voice. 

"I thought we weren't going easy," Riz countered, tugging Fabian's arm playfully. He hesitantly slipped his hand from Fabian's and shoved them in his pockets. He muttered, "Well... we shouldn't keep them waiting..." He nervously glanced up to meet Fabian's eye. He asked, "Talk later?" 

Fabian nodded, "Talk later." 

Outside, the others were fighting over the bag of marshmallows. Fabian skirted their scuffle and pulled another bag from a bin on a table Cathilda had prepared. Riz laughed as he popped open the bag and half of the heads focused on the other bag snapped their direction.

"Are you kidding me?!" Fig exclaimed, arms twisted around Ragh's in an attempt to snatch a marshmallow.

Fabian plucked two marshmallows from the new bag before dropping it back on the table, "Nope." 

He tugged Riz out of the way as at least four bodies tumbled their direction. He picked up a marshmallow stick and headed towards the fire. He sat down on one of the log benches and got to work. Riz hopped up beside him, laughing as he watched their friends fight ove a bag of marshmallows. 

Fabian watched the flames lick the bottom of the marshmallows. He tilted his head to see Cathilda and Riz in conversation. He felt a smile tug at his lips. He was still getting used to this, this having a family and friends who love him thing, but it felt good. He remembered nights back when he was just a toddler, staring out his bedroom window as adults talked in this very backyard while Cathilda showed him constellations. There were so many stars in the sky. 

_"If you look close enough, and if you know where to look, you can see that the stars are connected," she had said, pointing up at the sky. "The stars have so many friends in the sky. You'll be connected to so many people too, Fabian, I just know it."_

He caught Cathilda's eye over Riz's shoulder. They shared a warm smile before she returned to her conversation. He was glad Cathilda had stayed with them over all these years, even though his family was utterly insufferable. He spun the marshmallows, making sure they didn't burn. He had a feeling things were going to end up okay. 

When he removed the marshmallows from the fire, Riz was ready with a plate of graham crackers and chocolate. Cathilda was really on top of things. S'mores now complete, they chowed down. 

"S'mores never get old," Riz said, swallowing the last bite of his own. "I think I could eat at least one a day for the rest of my life." 

"Want me to make them?" Fabian replied with a smirk.

Riz cleared his throat before saying, "I wouldn't say no." He fumbled with his hands for a moment, lips clamped shut. He inhaled and started, "About last night, I-I'm-I... I just wanted to say thank you, like, actually." 

"There's no need for that. I would never just... let you fall," Fabian tried to put it lightly. "Even more, I really do care for you, Riz. Last night wasn't just some heat of the moment thing. I meant it." 

"Me too-I mean, I meant it, too. I've never meant something more, so... are we-can we, be-?" Riz stumbled his way through half a sentence. 

"If you're asking if I would like to be your boyfriend, I absolutely would love to be," Fabian told him, leaning in close.

Riz exhaled like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He nodded fiercely and chuckled as he said, "Yes, that's what I was asking. I-I didn't want you to think I didn't want that."

"Well, that settles it then," Fabian declared, scooching closer to discreetly wrap his arm around Riz. 

Riz laughed into his fist, barely hiding a smile. Fabian returned the grin, unable to contain the happiness he felt in his heart. 

"Nonono Fig, you don't understand. It was an unholy amount of caramel for one person to eat at one time," Ragh was insisting. 

"I have no idea how we convinced him to do it," Gorgug remarked, shaking his head. 

Fabian moved his arm to Riz's shoulders and joined the conversation, "It was all my convincing, of course. There's no other way Brady would have consumed enough caramel for a regular person to require a stomach pump." 

Fabian really wasn't sure if he'd ever felt so happy. Sitting around a campfire with The Bad Kids, with Riz warm against his side, he was able to just be Fabian. No titles, no acts, just Fabian. He wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. 

-

After everyone had tired themselves out, Riz found himself in his bathroom. Staring at himself in the mirror, he could really see how profound the dark circles under his eyes had become. Bathroom light never did anything for anyone, though. Still, walking back out into his bedroom, he couldn't bring himself to get into bed. The moon lit the room with a lonely white light. Riz shut his eyes for a moment before turning away and leaving his room behind. 

He snuck down the hall to the other wing of the house, careful to not make too much noise. Fabian's room was on this side. He hadn't realized how close they had been before. No light shined from under the door. Riz hesitated, but pushed it open. 

He could see Fabian's outline in the moonlight, already in bed. Riz considered turning around and leaving, but before he could make a decision, rustling in the sheets caught his attention. Fabian had sat up and faced him now. His eyepatch was off, so the scar was fully visible. Riz could see the sleep on his features. 

He squinted his good eye and mumbled, "Riz?" 

"Y-Yeah," Riz responded quietly, eyes locked on the floor. 

He heard a sigh from Fabian and glanced up. There was a soft smile on his face as he said, "Well, come here, then." 

Riz slowly shut the door behind him and shuffled over to Fabian's bed embarrassedly. When he crawled under the sheets, Fabian pulled him close. He sighed and pressed his forehead against Fabian's chest. He felt steady. Safe. It felt so much better not being alone. 

"It's alright," Fabian mumbled in his ear. "You're safe. I got you." 

"Thank you," Riz whispered. 

He felt Fabian's nose press into his hair. He shut his eyes and let out a breath. He listened to Fabian's steady breathing, felt his chest rise and fall, and drifted to sleep. And for once, he didn't dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the sexual tension between you and the other person in the last round of spoons,,,


	9. Silver Lining

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fig gives some bardic inspiration. Adaine uses Disintegrate. Gorgug has a chat.

"Come _on_ Adaine, you had to have seen it," Fig drawled out. "They were hardcore flirting all night." 

"Look, I know you're aiming to get them together by the end of this trip or whatever, but are you sure you weren't just assuming things?" Adaine questioned, stirring her spoon around her cereal. 

"I was _not_ seeing things. You should have seen them during that last round of spoons. You could feel the tension," Fig continued, squeezing the air with her hands. 

"First of all, gross imagery, second, if things are really moving along, that's great," Adaine continued. 

"They were so touchy! And the looks they were giving each other? Wow," she sighed, shaking her head. She frowned. Adaine refused to look at her. She tilted her head to try and get a good luck at Adaine's face. Adaine turned away, hiding her expression. Fig gasped and splayed her hands on the island.

"You know something, don't you? Something happened. What happened?" Fig pressed, leaning into Adaine's space.

"They kissed, okay!" Adaine blurted, quickly covering her mouth. Quieter, she removed her hands from her mouth and repeated, "They kissed. I don't know how things are between them right now. I don't even know if I can tell other people so... don't just shout it to the whole household, okay?" 

"Oh. My god," Fig said, starting to bounce in her seat. "It worked! My help really did something!" 

A grimace passed over Adaine's face before she said, "Yeah... yeah sure." Adaine shook her head and restored her calm and normal self. She continued, "Anyway, we need to ask Fabian about the silver today. I told him what we know and he's ready to help." 

"Good, then we can save the day once again!" Fig cheered. 

"Can't you just be quiet and eat your breakfast?" Adaine wondered. 

"Probably not," Fig answered, shoving a spoonful of Fruity Pebbles in her mouth. 

A loud yawn announced the presence of Fabian. He slid himself into the free chair at the island and joined the cereal party, pouring himself a bowl of those Fruity Pebbles. He said sleepily, "Good morning."

"Morning," Adaine greeted while Fig nearly choked trying to swallow her cereal faster. She coughed to clear her throat and mangled out a "Hey!"

Fabian raised an eyebrow, but just ate his cereal instead of saying anything. Fig heard Adaine try not to giggle behind her. She gave her a hurt look before turning back to Fabian. 

"How are things between you and Riz?" she asked without hesitation.

She could see the exact moment the question clicked in his brain. His eye widened and he leaned over Fig to point his spoon at Adaine.

"Did you tell?" he accused. 

"Fig knew you had a thing for Riz from the start!" Adaine defended herself. 

"Did you think my glow bracelet thing was a coincidence? No way!" Fig prided herself in her work. 

Fabian stared open-mouthed at her for a moment. Fig grinned, knowing she played her wingman cards excellently. He pulled back and crossed his arms over his chest defiantly. 

"We're doing great, if you must ask," he answered annoyedly. 

"Good to hear, good to hear," Fig replied, satisfied with her tease for the morning. 

"Getting past that, we were just talking about what we need for the magic circle," Adaine shifted the conversation.

Fig cringed and averted her gaze. Watching the last of the Fruity Pebbles floating through the leftover milk in her bowl, another one of those crisis thoughts came to her. Here she was, making jokes and teasing her friend about his crush when something much more important was going on. Riz was in actual life threatening danger. She needed to focus. Or maybe she'd have one less friend to tease. 

"Something about 100 gold pieces worth of silver, right?" Fabian checked, twirling his spoon in his fingers. "Yeah, I'm sure we have something like that around here. Actually, I know exactly something that fits the bill." 

"Fantastic," Adaine remarked, leaning back in her chair. 

Fig tapped her spoon against the edge of her bowl mindlessly. She asked, "Are we gonna do it tonight?"

She was met with silence. She knew the whole thing was tentative. She knew the idea of losing Riz was heavy on their shoulders. She wanted that weight to disappear. She wanted to have fun with The Bad Kids again. 

"Yes," Fabian finally answered her with a nod, "I think we should. I don't want this to drag on any longer." 

"I agree," Adaine mumbled. She reached to squeeze her own arms, staring down at her lap. She said, "I hate this feeling." 

"Me too," Fig whispered. She hated the twist of anxiety in her gut. But she couldn't stay like this. She slapped her cheeks and hopped off her chair. She dumped her bowl in the sink and turned on her friends, hands on her hips. She declared, "We can't get any work done like this, now can we? It's time to buck up! We gotta get Riz unpossessed and we have to do it with hope in our hearts! There's still the rest of summer vacation to enjoy!"

Fabian and Adaine looked up at her, slightly in shock. Adaine's shock broke as a smile appeared on her face. She said, "Do you plan to do it in your pajamas?"

Fig faltered, but continued on proudly, "I'll do it in whatever way I need to!" 

"You both are ridiculous," Fabian stated, shaking his head. 

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Fig grinned. 

-

Adaine hummed, following Fabian into a study on the third floor. The shelves were less lined with books than they were with memorabilia from Bill's living pirate days. There were dragon claws, kraken beaks, mermaid scales, and all sorts of the like. While she looked around, Fabian moved around a large desk to the shelf on the back wall. 

"Does your father have more things like this?" she asked, glancing Fabian's direction. 

"Oh-Oh yes, yes he does. There are all sorts of things back in Elmville," Fabian answered absentmindedly after a moment. 

He was distracted. Something on the shelf. Adaine walked to his side, now able to see his unfocused gaze. She followed his eye, finding the picture he was lost in. She immediately understood why he was so perturbed. She recognized their first day at Aguefort Adventuring Academy instantly. Fabian, two years ago, no eyepatch, thick letterman jacket, hugging his father outside of Seacaster Manor. He was still scuffed up, some of the creamed corn from the corn cuties staining his jacket. So much had changed since then. 

"He's still so proud of you, you know," Adaine commented, leaning her head against Fabian's arm briefly. 

"I know," Fabian echoed quietly, squeezing his hands together tightly for a moment and releasing them. "I know." 

Adaine pretended to scour the shelves, "So, what are we here for?" 

"Right," Fabian started, jumping back to himself. He looked upward, stood on his tiptoes, and picked a gleaming silver hook off one of the highest shelves. He bounced it in his hands and said, "Papa spent lots of money on this. He never wore it, though. He'd committed to raising me by the time it was finished."

Adaine glanced from the hook to Fabian, unable to read his gaze. Or maybe she just didn't want to. She asked, "Are you sure about this?"

"Y-Yes, yes I'm sure," Fabian insisted, nodding once. "You saw him in hell, he's doing well for himself. He could get as many new hooks as he's ever wanted." 

Adaine laughed lightly, "I guess you're right." 

She delicately took the hook in her hands. She brought her hands over the desk, just in case, and cast a Disintegrate spell on the hook. It crumbled to silver dust in her hands. She slid the dust into a small pouch Fabian held open and tightened it shut. Holding the component they needed, she met Fabian's eye. He made no attempt to hide the frown on his face. She understood the sentiment. Everything about this was uncertain. It was almost like they were dealing with Kalina's disease again, hiding information from each other. 

"We're getting him back," she determined.

Fabian finished, "No questions asked."

They hurried back downstairs, charging all the way to the basement. When they arrived, Tracker and Kristen already had all the furniture to the walls and out of the way, leaving the floor open for their ritual space. They were both laying on the floor in opposite directions, staring at the ceiling. Hearing then arrive, Kristen's head popped upwards. 

"Did you get it?" she asked. 

"Right here," Adaine answered, flouncing the pouch. She tossed it their way and Tracker's hand shot up to grab it before Kristen could. 

"Hey!" Kristen called, grinning down at her girlfriend. 

Fabian shuffled next to her, shifting his weight from foot to foot. His eye focused on the small window just below the ceiling, allowing them to see the late evening light. 

"The sun's going to set soon," he commented, shifting his weight again. "Shall we begin?" 

"Yes, lets," Adaine nodded, almost as eager to end this as he was. 

"Alright," Kristen groaned as she stood up and stretched. "I'm ready."

"Lets get out exorcism on," Tracker pumped them up. 

Adaine pulled out her crystal, opening her messages with Gorgug. She sent one text:

**Addy Abernaddy [7:23 PM]**

We're ready

-

The heat outside was unbearable. Gorgug only knew this as a fact. Laying out on a pool chair, head hanging over the edge, popsicle in hand, Gorgug was dying. Of all the ways to spend the day, he was melting in the summer sun. The grape flavor couldn't save him now.

In reality, he, Ragh, Fig, and Ayda were keeping Riz distracted while the others prepared the magic circle. They'd used the excuse that the others were helping Cathilda clean up after their party, but who knew how long that'd hold up. It was already late in the evening, soon the sun would set and the time for the ritual would come. Gorgug was waiting for the notification from Adaine that they were ready. Riz, Fig, and Ragh were playing Griffin with a ball and net while Ayda watched with her legs in the water. 

"Are you really not gonna get in?" Riz asked, waiting for his turn to come around. 

"Oh, uh, n-nah, I'm good out here," Gorgug insisted, watching another drip of purple fall from his popsicle. 

"Oh, baby! Beat that Riz!" Fig called, having made a shot from halfway across the pool. 

"Great," Riz grumbled, even though there was a smile on his face. 

He felt kinda bad, hiding their plan from Riz. It was for the best, he guessed. The others seemed okay with it, so he'd stay quiet. He understood the risks. If the thing inside Riz figured out what they were trying to do, who knew what would happen. He didn't want anything worse to happen. 

His crystal buzzed on the pool chair. Gorgug pushed himself up and checked the message. Zelda was video calling him. He smiled and answered the call. 

"Oh-uh, hey Gorgug," Zelda greeted, quickly putting on a smile and waving, "didn't expect you to answer so soon."

"We're just hangin' out by the pool. Nothing crazy," Gorgug told her, adjusting his crystal to show his friends in the water. 

"Nice to see you guys just relaxing," Zelda hummed, head tilting to the side. "You always seem to be up to something." 

"Yeah, well, we're still kinda in some deep... shit," Gorgug gracefully finished his thought. "Do you remember Riz's nightmare?" 

He took the time to explain to Zelda as best as he could about their whole debacle. He kept his eye on the others through his camera, making sure Riz didn't overhear. At the end, Zelda was shaking her head.

"That's so rough," she sighed. "I hope you all are doing okay." 

"We're alright," Gorgug told her, trying for a reassuring smile. 

A large splash came from the water, soon followed by Ragh's voice asking, "Who you talkin' to babe?" 

"Zelda," Gorgug answered, showing him the screen. 

"Oh hey Zelda!" Ragh greeted, leaning to get his body in frame. 

"Hey Ragh!" Zelda responded cheerily. "Lookin' good." 

"Right back atcha," Ragh countered with a wink. 

"I'm right here," Gorgug interjected. 

"Love you honey," Zelda called, "Ragh, kiss him for me." 

Ragh immediately squatted down to kiss Gorgug's forehead. He felt his face flush as Zelda laughed in the background.

"Thank you!" Zelda sang. 

"A-Anyway!" Gorgug stuttered, waving his hand dismissively. "How are things with the Maidens? How's your mission going?"

"It's going well! We almost have everything Professor Aguefort needs to reinforce the magical defenses around the school," Zelda reported. "We're taking a rest now, so I'm sure the girls are listening from somewhere." 

A crash and the sound of twigs snapping on Zelda's end made her twist around. She brought a hand to her mouth to cover a snicker. She twisted her hand to show Gorgug and Ragh the other Maidens, fallen atop each other in a pile. 

"Hi!" Katja called from the bottom of the stack. 

"Sam, I told you you were leaning too far!" Penny scolded. 

"It's fiine," Sam insisted, waving her hand. She pried her other arm out from the girl pile and waved, calling, "Hey Gorgug! Hey Ragh!" 

"Hi everyone," Gorgug laughed. 

Zelda sighed and shook her head. She pushed her flop of hair out of her eyes and said, "Well, I think that's enough of that. I hope you guys get everything sorted out."

"Yeah, me too," Gorgug sighed. Ragh, still squatting next to him, wrapped an arm around his shoulders. 

"I know you guys'll be okay," Zelda encouraged him. "There's nothing you can't do as long as you have each other." 

Gorgug nodded, unsure of how to express how grateful he was for his girlfriend. 

"Well, see you soon, guys. Take care of each other!" Zelda waved, smiling as she signed off.

"See you," Gorgug replied at the same time Ragh said, "You got it!" 

The call ended, and Gorgug felt that twinge of sadness he felt every time they ended those types of calls. Far apart, unable to say they'd see each other tomorrow. Still, he had Ragh, and the rest of his friends of course. He'd be alright. 

As Ragh stood up, Gorgug's phone pinged again. A message from Adaine lit up his screen. _We're ready._ He tugged on Ragh's arm and called out to Fig, "It's getting kinda late." 

"Huh, I guess you're right," Fig 'realized', staring out at the sunset. 

This was the code they'd set up. A sign to show the plan was in action. They could make the call whenever. The others were ready to cast the magic circle. They were gonna fix this. 

"Man, I'm starving," Ragh called, wrapping his towel around his neck. "Lets get some grub."

The others scuttled out of the pool, drying themselves off before heading inside. Gorgug felt his anxiety grow heavier and heavier in his stomach. He clenched his crystal a little tighter in his hand. He had to believe it. He had to believe this would turn out okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen I know sophomore year ended with them on level nine and technically Adaine can't cast Disintegrate but this is my summertime fanfic this isn't real.


	10. Inside the Circle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their enemy makes itself known. The Bad Kids perform a ritual.

Fabian had started pacing at this point. He was biting the tip of his thumb as he held it to his mouth. Kristen and Tracker were ready to cast the spell. The others got Adaine's message. All that was left to do was wait. 

He wished he had Adaine's brain. She had sat herself on the floor, opened a few books, and started researching at once. She had three different religious books spread in front of her, along with what looked like notes about their adventures so far. Fabian caught the name 'Leviathan' on its pages and didn't look any further. She seemed to have some idea of what she was doing, though.

"There has to be some kind of connection here," Adaine remarked to nobody. "What am I missing?" 

"A connection between the information we have and Riz?" Fabian questioned.

"Yes, I don't think this could possibly be something we haven't encountered before. It just seems too unlikely," Adaine reasoned, talking with her hands. 

"Well, we know it's not Cassandra," Kristen ruled out. "We dealt with the whole Nightmare fiasco. They don't do that anymore." 

"Kalvaxus is a boat headed by my Papa," Fabian added. 

"None of our previous enemies really fit the bill," Adaine concluded their train of thought. 

"What if we think about it the other way?" Tracker suggested. "What if it's not someone big? Who else was evil that we ran into on spring break?" 

Fabian decided to trace backwards, starting from the end to the beginning. As Kristen said, Cassandra had regained their true form. Kalina was dead. The bad side of the Abernants were dead or powerless. The people of Fallinel in general were too weird for this. The only enemy they had on Leviathan was Whitclaw, and Fabian knew he wasn't coming back. The only portions after that were Bastion City and the trip to Leviathan. The demons in Bastion City were Nightmare King followers, so they didn't matter. What happened on the way to Leviathan...?

Suddenly, Fabian remembered something. The day they spent on the beach, Fig had received the cover art for her Spring Break album. On it, there had been a song Riz had pointed out specifically. None of them had taken the threat seriously. The only two people who truly heeded it were the Hangman and Zaphriel. 

"There's... something we haven't considered," Fabian spoke up slowly. 

"What is that?" Adaine asked, eager to hear anything. 

"On our way to Leviathan, the time we spent trying to piece clues together. Riz was rearranging letters and we found something on accident. Remember?" Fabian tried, hoping Adaine would understand. He was seriously starting to believe he should have heeded his motorcycle's warning. "The Hangman and Zaphriel didn't dig it? Specifically said not to speak of it?"

Understanding clicked on Adaine's face, quickly followed by confusion, then incredulousness. She questioned, "The Night Yorb?" 

Something shattered loudly upstairs. 

-

Fig's heart leaped into her throat, cutting off a scream before it could leave her lungs. Riz had suddenly toppled to the floor from where he was seated at the kitchen island. He clutched at his throat, coughing up something that looked like a mix between blood and black sludge. Ayda had protectively jumped in front of her, creating a barrier between her and Riz.

"Ragh! Gorgug!" Fig called. "Something's wrong!" 

She saw the half orcs bound downstairs as Riz toppled backwards, slamming into the wall and knocking some picture frames off the wall. The glass shattered across the ground, and Riz collapsed. Fig slipped around Ayda, kneeling at his side. He was unconscious. This... was incredibly bad. 

The plan was going fine. Fig and Riz showed Ayda how to make lemonade from a packet mere moments ago. They were explaining why it was more convenient than using actual lemons when Riz started to choke. She looked worriedly up at Ayda and asked, "Can you tell what's wrong with him?" 

Ayda knelt next to her, her hands starting to glow with magic energy. She moved her hands across Riz's body like a scanner. Her eyes shot open and she jumped back a bit. 

"Strong enchantment magic," she declared, "and something... terribly evil." 

This time, Fig did yell. Riz's eyes shot open, showing inky pools of black. Like a rocket, Riz launched himself at her. He clawed at her skin and frothed at the mouth. She tried to get him off, but only was freed when Ragh rushed up and tugged him away. Ayda dropped to her knees, pulling Fig close to her chest. Fig felt her own blood dripping down her cheeks. She saw it dripping off of Riz's fingertips. This was no longer Riz Gukgak. 

"What happened?!" Gorgug asked fearfully, watching his boyfriend pin Riz's arms to his sides in a bear hug. 

"He just got possessed! Or something!" Fig explained, trying to ignore how her hands were shaking. 

"We need to get him in the magic circle as soon as possible," Ayda insisted, pulling Fig to her feet, "or he will be entirely possessed and we will not be able to get him back." 

"Downstairs," Fig breathed. 

She grabbed her bass off the couch as they rushed by, running towards the basement. She practically kicked the door open and leapt down the stairs two at a time. 

"Possessed Riz incoming!" she announced loudly. 

-

Hearing the crash upstairs, Adaine immediately turned to Kristen and Tracker. 

"I think it's time to start," she suggested, voice much higher than usual. 

"Yeahyeahyeah," Kristen rambled, running to the other side of the circle. She clutched both hands on her question mark staff and shut her eyes. She and Tracker started to mumble the incantation under their breaths, completely in sync. As the runes on the floor began to ignite, Adaine turned to Fabian. 

The look on his face was much more startled than she was hoping. His feet had frozen to the floor. He stared up at the staircase, as if waiting for the worst to come. Adaine scrambled to her feet, kicked her books aside, and grabbed Fabian's hand. 

"Look at me Fabian, everything's going to be okay," she told him, keeping her voice as calm as she could. Fabian did look down at her, but the strongest feeling on his face was unease. Adaine kept talking, "Just take a deep breath. We can handle this." 

Her sentence was punctuated by a scream from upstairs. She knew it was from Fig. She wasn't sure how much she believed her own words. She glanced over her shoulder. The spell has only halfway done. They needed more time. 

The basement door crashed open. Four pairs of footsteps stomped down the stairs. Fig's voice announced, "Possessed Riz incoming!"

As they broke into the main area, Adaine gasped. Fig's face and arms were covered in small, bleeding claw marks. Riz was thrashing about in Ragh's grip. She felt Fabian go rigid beside her. 

"It's not ready yet!" Adaine exclaimed, holding her hands out. "Keep him away from Kristen and Tracker. We can't let him interrupt the ritual." 

Ragh, thundering forward, stopped in his tracks. As he turned on his heel, barely keeping his balance, Riz slipped from his arms. He scuttled between Ragh's legs and jumped at Adaine. Adaine screamed, covering her face, only to feel no impact at all. Fabian had jumped in front of her. He had caught Riz out of the air, at the cost of getting his face scratched. 

There was a rush of wind from behind them. Adaine turned to see the runes nearing completion. Kristen opened her eyes and looked their way.

"Now or never!" she announced. 

Fabian was still wrestling to keep Riz down. Gorgug rushed forward, tearing Riz from Fabian's grip and throwing him in the center of the magic circle. He skidded across the floor, growling like a wild animal. The thing possessing Riz's body leapt toward Kristen. The spell finished casting. A wall of magical force appeared. Riz collided with the wall, collapsing to the floor. He was trapped inside the magic circle. 

Adaine released a shaky breath. She stood there, shaking, watching as Riz's body threw itself at the circle's walls. It snarled and hissed like a beast. What had it done with Riz? Fig began to pluck at her bass, the familiar tune of her countercharm filling the basement. It felt comforting, despite the situation. 

With each thud as Riz's body rammed the magic circle's shell, Kristen and Tracker flinched. It was making it harder for them to concentrate. Adaine stepped forward, flipping through her spellbook. She had to be able to do something. Anything. She had to be sure this succeeded. 

"Feed the circle more magic," Tracker told her as she approached, voice strained as she concentrated and keeping the circle up. "Anything will make it stronger." 

"Will do," Adaine breathed. She felt the panic wanting to settle in her, but she didn't let it. She had something important to do here. She couldn't give in.

-

Riz died. Or at least, he thought he did. It definitely felt like it. He'd choked on the blood and gunk in his throat until he'd passed out. He was forced out of himself. Whatever this see-through form of him was, his soul maybe, was replaced by the overwhelmingly dark presence of the demon inside him. He was stuck watching his own body move again. He watched as his form desperately tried to force it's way out of Kristen and Tracker's magic circle. He should've known his friends knew something was wrong. He should've known they would do something. Instead, he didn't let anyone help him with his problems, just like usual. 

-

The second this ritual started, Fabian felt his heart break in his chest. How were you supposed to react when the person you loved wasn't there? When they weren't in their body even though you saw it right in front of you? With each thud and growl and crack of breaking bones as the thing's attempts to escape grew more and more desperate, Fabian flinched. He wanted to cover his ears, close his eye, and hide. He didn't wanted to see this anymore. He wanted Riz back. 

He felt a hand rest on his shoulder. Gorgug had came up beside him, mirroring his pain. As another sickening crunch filled the basement, Fabian truly hugged Gorgug. He wanted to disappear. Hiding his face in Gorgug's shoulder was the next best thing. 

He tried to lose himself in Fig's bass. The solid thrum underlined the other noise in the basement. It was steady. Fig never faltered when she was playing her music. It was reliable, just like her. Fabian took a breath. He couldn't be so pathetic. 

He stood straight, using the hem of his shirt to wipe the blood from his face. He mumbled a quiet "Thank you" to Gorgug before turning around. It all felt awful. Riz's body continued to charge its magical confinement. It's nose was bleeding and part of it's forehead had split open. He was sure at least some fingers were broken. It was horrible. 

"How long is this gonna take?" Fabian asked uneasily. 

"We're trying, but he's putting up a good fight," Kristen grumbled, tightening her grip on her staff. 

Fabian placed his hand on the hilt of Fandrangor and squeezed. He mumbled, "Come on, Riz." 

-

Each time his body rammed against the magic circle's wall, Riz flinched. He couldn't feel anything in his current form, but he could imagine it. He'd be feeling it once he got his body back. With each slam, Riz knew he had to do something. 

"Why don't you just give up already?" Riz called to it. "They're going to destroy you!" 

_I cannot be destroyed,_ the voice reverberated in his mind, his body still struggling for freedom. _But you, on the other hand, can be. Once I destroy this vessel, you will truly be dead, and I will be free to take over._

Riz inhaled sharply. If his body died, he'd be gone. He knew he'd be heading to that void of nothingness. His friends were trying so hard to get him back. What could he do?

He lunged forward, wrapping his arms around his body's. Expecting nothing, he was surprised when his body toppled forward. Emboldened, he pushed against himself, holding down his own arms. It seemed like the magic circle was weakening whatever was possessing him. 

"What's happening?" Gorgug asked looking from Riz to Kristen to Adaine and back. 

"I-I don't know..." Adaine trailed off, a thought crossing her mind. She fired another blast of magical energy off of her fist and said, "Riz, if you're still in there, keep helping us out." 

In a response, very aware they couldn't hear him, he put all his weight on his own torso. As he watched his body squirm underneath him, he had an idea. If the magic circle weakened his possessor enough, maybe he could take his body back. 

With a sudden rush of power, Riz was tossed from his position. His body immediately ran full force at the barrier again. Riz watched his own shoulder dislocate. He felt lightheaded. If they didn't finish this soon, Riz's body would be entirely broken. 

A memory resurfaced in his mind. Back in the Nightmare King's forest, on the steps to the ritual ground. He remembered his last moments before he died. Killian raising him in the air. He remembered watching Kalina smirk at him as he was smashed into the stairs, his ribs cracking and his lungs being vacated of all their air. He wasn't dead for long, but it was long enough to worry about not coming back. 

He didn't want to go through that again. 

-

"Can't you speed this up at all?" Fabian asked wearily. He wouldn't be able to stand this much longer. 

"Hold on... just a little longer," Tracker growled, clenching her hands tighter. 

He saw Kristen smirk on the other side of the circle. She mumbled, "We got 'im." 

Suddenly, Riz's body stumbled. It collapsed to the floor mid-charge. He watched as it began to convulse, the chest rising and limbs spasming. Some sort of black, thick liquid began to drip from its mouth. It began to cough up more and more, in bigger and heavier chunks. 

"What's-What's going on?" Fig asked, stopping her playing. "Is he okay?" 

The growls Riz's body had been sounding before started to turn into screams. Howls of pain that rang in Fabian's ears. The black material was no longer coming out heavily. It began to change from black to maroon to a blood red.

"It's hurting him!" Fabian exclaimed, running to the edge of the magic circle. 

Adaine reached out to grab his arm. Breathing heavy from casting so many consecutive spells, she gasped, "Don't... we can't stop... not now..." 

Fabian tugged his arm away. Staring down at Riz's flailing body, he clenched his hands into fists. Why was he so powerless? Why did he have to stand there and watch while Riz suffered? Another scream from Riz interrupted his thoughts. A large, black shadow peeled from Riz's body. The faint form of something writhing in pain came into shape before being ripped apart by the holy light. 

A flash of white blinded Fabian momentarily. When his eyes adjusted, the magic circle was gone. Kristen and Tracker were on the floor, breathing heavily. Adaine was on her knees, head in her hands. Riz's body was in the center of the circle, collapsed and barely breathing. Fabian barely felt his feet move. He dropped to his knees, pulling Riz's broken body into his lap. 

"Riz," he said quietly, voice breaking, "Riz, wake up... please." 

A soft groan escaped his lips. He shifted slightly, only to hiss in pain. His eyes fluttered open, lazily landing on Fabian. He grinned tiredly, limp in Fabian's arms. 

"Hey," he said hoarsely. 

Fabian laughed in disbelief. He responded exasperatedly, "Hey? You almost died and all you have to say to me is 'hey'?" 

Riz shrugged and coughed weakly, nothing coming up this time. "Sorry... I'm not exactly at 100%." 

"I can tell that much," Fabian sighed. He leaned down to place his forehead on Riz's. He was so relieved. 

Kristen scooted over to them, raising her hands. She started to cast Cure Wounds as she said, "Sorry to interrupt but... I'm pretty sure most of your bones are broken, Riz." 

"Yeah... I think so..." Riz agreed, clearly relaxing from the pain relief Cure Wounds brought.

"We're gonna have to take you to a hospital for actual healing," Tracker continued, taking her turn with the healing. 

Riz's external wounds were healed. At least, they were no longer bleeding. Fabian wasn't sure how much Cure Wounds could do for the rest of him. He looked so... tired. Absolutely exhausted. His eyes would barely stay open. The blood from his nose had crusted on his face. A mix of blood and that black sludge stained his shirt. It was over but... all of this felt so _wrong_. He clamped his eyes shut and sucked in a shaky breath. 

He heard Riz release a pained breath, then felt a gentle touch on his cheek. He opened his eyes to see Riz doing his best to smile at him reassuringly. His body shook as he exhaled. He muttered, "I'll be okay." 

Fabian exhaled shakily, determined not to crack any further. He nodded and held Riz's hand in his own. He whispered, "I know." 

"An ambulance is on the way," Adaine announced, shoving her crystal in her pocket. 

"I texted Gilear," Fig added, tapping her fingers against her bass restlessly, "but Hallariel always has his crystal, so they should know what's up." 

Tracker hummed, pumping one more healing spell into Riz before getting to her feet. She put a hand on Fabian's shoulder and said, "Lets go upstairs." 

With a faint nod, Fabian held Riz carefully in his arms and got to his feet. He slowly maneuvered upstairs, doing everything he could to avoid jostling Riz. The goblin wheezed in his arms, fighting to stay awake. The ambulance wasn't going to arrive for a while, so they were forced to wait. Fabian laid Riz on the couch, leaving him to rest. He knelt down to place a kiss on his forehead. He was reluctant to leave him alone. He settled with brushing a stray curl from Riz's face before standing and moving away. 

The others were waiting for him in the kitchen. They all gathered around the island, a large downcast feeling oppressing the room. Fabian slowly stepped inside, gaze falling to the floor as his friends looked to him. Adaine slid off one of the tall chairs and came to his side. She rubbed a comforting hand up and down his arm. 

"He's gonna be okay," she said quietly. 

Fabian nodded solemnly. His head ached with tension. The scratches from Riz's claws on his face stung, but those didn't bother him as much as pulse of tears behind his eyes. He had failed to protect his friends once again. This time hurt so much worse. He knew what was coming this time, and he still couldn't prevent the harm that befell them. He clenched his fists at his sides, angry with himself for thinking he could do anything in the first place. 

A cool hand on his cheek shocked him awake. Kristen had came up to him, hand alight with the dark, chilling glow of midnight. The scratches on his cheeks and around his eyes closed, but he still felt something running down his face. It wasn't blood. He wiped at his eye, looking for an answer. Clear, watery tears built on his hand. He was crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, we're already here huh? Next chapter is the last one, gang. Thank you for sticking with me this whole time!


	11. Vacation, All I Ever Wanted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Bad Kids head home. Riz and Fabian talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE FINAL CHAPTERR guys I had so much fun writing this and I thank you guys so much for your comments and kudos and inspiring me even more to keep writing the best story I can. I hope y'all enjoy the conclusion to this story!

When Riz came to, he was in an unfamiliar room. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he realized this was no where in the Seacaster villa. His arms were wrapped in bandages, along with his hands and fingers. His chest ached, but not as bad as before. Before. Right. The ritual. His friends had exorcised the demon from his body. His friends... where were they? 

He was alone in the room. He nervously glanced around, peering into shadows as if something would be there. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _No. Come on, Gukgak, keep it together._

Focusing his thoughts and looking around, he could tell this was a hospital room. A plastic cup of water sat next to a cold mug of coffee on his bedside table. There was an empty chair at his bedside, a blanket draped across its back. The blinds covering the window were open enough for him to see a line of deep pink and purple on the horizon. 

The door to his room creaked open. Riz looked over so fast it sent a spike of pain to his temples. He winced and leaned back in his bed, trying to tamper down the pain. Who was here? As he let his eyes fully open again, he was met with the shock of silver hair, brown skin, and worried gaze of one Fabian Aramais Seacaster. 

"Riz are-are you alright? Should I get the doctor?" he asked immediately, looking frantically from him to the door. 

"No, I'm-I'm alright," Riz assured, placing a hand on Fabian's arm. "Just moved too quickly... that's all."

"How are you feeling?" Fabian probed, curling his fingers into the bed's blanket. 

"Sore," Riz grumbled, slowly stretching his stiff fingers. He frowned, he hoped this wouldn't affect his proficiency with his tools. 

"No, I meant-" Fabian huffed. "How are you _feeling?"_

Riz grimaced, clenching his fingers too hard for their liking. He hissed and quickly straightened them, feeling the dull throb of pain shoot up his wrists. Fabian's hands, calloused and rough from his swordplay but so gentle when touching him, slid carefully into his. He decided to swallow his pride.

"I... I don't know. Tense, I guess? It's-It's still scary," Riz confessed quietly, holding onto Fabian as tightly as he could without feeling pain. 

"Try to relax," Fabian soothed, leaning forward onto his elbows. "You're safe. Kristen, Tracker, and the doctors checked. Nothing evil's here anymore." 

Riz took a breath, nodding slightly. He calmed down enough to ask, "Where are the others?" 

"They're staying at a motel in town," Fabian answered, tilting his head to the side as he rubbed circles on Riz's hands. "They didn't want to go too far when I told them I'd stay. Your mother's on her way as well. She'll be here soon." 

Riz hummed in acknowledgement. He was still exhausted. He'd spent the last few days dreading when the time came for him to sleep. He'd been anxious and restless and far too aware of this foreign presence residing in his body. In taking a moment to just breathe, he noticed his chest felt lighter. A weight he'd carried unnoticed was gone from his shoulders. He was... happy. Relieved. This brief and horrifying experience was over. 

"Thank you," he started, a smile forming on his face, "for staying with me." 

"I couldn't leave," Fabian stressed, sounding like Riz had just said something ridiculous. "I wouldn't be able to sleep! I was... much too worried. I couldn't stand the thought of just leaving you here alone." 

A guilty feeling knotted Riz's stomach. He really noticed it now, the bags under Fabian's eye. Riz knew what not sleeping looked like. The pink on the horizon was growing brighter. The sun was rising. 

"You didn't have to stay up for me," Riz said, gazing down at his lap. 

"I don't regret it. Every time I've needed to protect those close to me I've failed," Fabian mangled out, hiding his face behind his arms. "I needed to know I didn't fuck up again. I needed to know you were alright. Truly alright."

"And I am! I'm okay!" Riz emphasized, painfully sitting up straighter so he could get closer to Fabian. He slipped his hands from Fabian's to hold his face. He lifted his chin to look at him straight. Riz had seen anguish in Fabian's eyes before, and this was terrifyingly close. Riz ran one of his hands through Fabian's hair, feeling his sadness as if it were his own. He persisted, "Just having you here with me is more than enough. You are enough, Fabian." 

He leaned forward, hugging Fabian's head to his chest. He felt Fabian's arms slowly wrap around his torso and pull him close. Riz rested his cheek on top of his head. His problems could wait, Fabian needed him right now. And he was willing to be there. Why wouldn't he be? There was only one person in this life Riz would do absolutely anything for. 

Orange light began to seep into the room. The sun was rising over the Celestine Sea. A new day was beginning. A new start was waiting for the both of them. 

Once Fabian calmed down, he almost immediately fell asleep on Riz's bedside. Very sleepy himself, he lost himself in the rhythm of running his hand through Fabian's hair. Soon enough, his mother pushed into the room. She exhaled heavily and hurried to his side, giving him a hug that _really_ hurt. Riz felt tears push out of his eyes. He couldn't hide them before his mom wiped them away. 

"Oh, Riz," she whispered, obviously tired but still filled with relief, "what am I going to do with you?" 

"I'm sorry mom," was all Riz could say.

"You're okay, right? Nothing they couldn't fix?"

When Riz nodded, she turned serious. She didn't raise her voice, aware of Fabian sleeping on the opposite side of the bed, but still gave him a firm scolding nonetheless. He knew his family was unlike the others. He didn't have the constant affection like the Seacasters or the softer and milder support of the Faeths or the overwhelming love and encouragement of the Thistlesprings, but he knew his mom loved him. Everyday she came home late, spending her nights digging deep into cases, that was love. He never forgot what Pok told him from their brief time together. The Gukgaks showed their love through their work. So, Riz would keep leaving dinner out for his mom on those late nights. He would solve his own cases to bring in some extra money and say sorry each time he met his mom on a crime scene. Their love wasn't obvious, but it was there. And he was able to sleep peacefully as the sun rose over Solace, knowing his mom would be there when he woke up. 

-

Fabian dashed down the stairs, hearing car doors shut outside. He burst out the front door, searching the driveway. He jumped the steps entirely, racing barefoot across the gravel to eagerly scoop Riz Gukgak up into his arms. Hearing his laugh, his heart did backflips in his chest. Without hesitation, Fabian did what he'd been waiting so long to do. He planted a kiss on Riz's lips. 

The doctors had wanted to monitor Riz for another day before letting him go, so Fabian was forced to go home. It was mostly The Bad Kids dragging him and Riz's pleading that made him step foot outside the hospital. Before they left, they managed to explain to Sklonda and partially Riz what had happened. Riz gaped at the mention of the Night Yorb, angry at himself for not piecing that together. Easy to say, the Riz in his arms now had a few less tattoos. 

Their first kiss as an actual couple was perfect, as first kisses go. Fabian had to say it was some of his finest work. It felt natural, like picking up two pieces of a puzzle and seeing they fit. He didn't think he'd ever forget this moment. As they came apart and Fabian set Riz back on the ground, a loud _blech_ came from the porch. Adaine pretended to gag at their flagrant PDA. 

They also told everyone about the development in their relationship. 

"It's been one day," she complained. 

"And there _will_ be more where that came from," Fabian promised. 

"Spare me, at least, please," Sklonda interjected. She'd stayed with them overnight and borrowed Hallariel's car to pick Riz up. 

"Of course, Sklonda," Fabian nodded, resting his elbow on Riz's head briefly before having it shoved off. 

Adaine walked up to them, hugged Riz, and smiled, "I'm glad you're back." 

The others barreled out of the house soon enough. The energy and excitement was very welcome. He vastly preferred it over the doom and gloom that had settled throughout the house for the past few days. With the ritual and Riz's recovery hanging over their heads, it felt like the gavel could've dropped and shattered their framework at any second. Fabian was just glad that they were all together again, no one in mortal peril this time.

Still, their week trip had come to end. Instead of riding alone on the Hangman, Fabian opted to lift his bike on top of the van and ride home with everyone else. With their bags stuck in every nook and cranny possible, they all managed to squeeze in. Fabian and Riz had claimed the third row of seats for themselves. Being stuck in a car with their friends for multiple hours meant lots of teasing and pointless conversation. Fabian loved every second of it. 

He could tell Riz did, too. After being in the hospital for two days, he looked pretty amazing. He still had some bandages wrapped around his hands and arms, magical healing could only go so far, but he had most of his normal energy back. There were bags under his eyes from restless nights of no sleep. Fabian hadn't seen him since that night. It had been a nerve-racking day for him. He desperately wanted to be by Riz's side while he recovered, but his friends essentially put him on house arrest. Mostly Adaine, insisting Riz didn't need him breathing down his neck for a whole day. And... she was right. He needed rest. Good, long rest. 

That's why when they were still three hours out from Elmville, Fabian was happy to let Riz rest his head on his lap. He sat there, contently playing with Riz's hair, while the rest of the van continued messing around without him. Watching Riz lightly snore, looking so at peace and comfortable, made him want to curl up and sleep beside him. Riz was still recovering, this point was made ever clear to him. Occasionally, Riz would grumble in his sleep and shift himself slightly, uncomfortable with pain. He'd also seen Sklonda hand him two different pill bottles before they left. Something about it had washed a wave of sadness over him. 

Elmville did come into view eventually, truly signaling the end of their trip. They dropped the girls and Ragh off at Mordred Manor first, effectively emptying half of the van. They departed with promises to meet up tomorrow, quiet assurances that they wanted to make sure Riz was safe. Riz was still asleep when they pulled up to Seacaster Manor. Fabian carefully took their little angel in his arms, waving goodbye to Gorgug as he pulled away. The Hangman retreated to the garage as he entered his home. The house was still empty, besides the two of them. Sklonda had needed to return to work after leaving so suddenly, so she had asked Fabian to watch Riz for the night. Of course, he agreed. 

Fabian gently laid Riz down on his own bed. He made sure he was comfortable before leaving him to rest in peace. Fabian rubbed exhaustion from his eye and glanced out a window as he passed it. The sun had set too fast on this day. He wished he had a bit more time. For what, he wasn't quite sure. 

In a burst of loneliness, Fabian decided to climb to the crow's nest of his father's ship. He could see the stars perfectly from there. He sat himself below the wooden bars, hanging his legs over the edge and feeling the night breeze brush past his face. He looked up, gaze instantly focusing on one star up above. He looked close, just as Cathilda said, and saw the connections start to form. Five stars connected to the one he spotted, with even more strings of fate tying them to other stars. 

"Thank you," Fabian told the sky, "for leading me to where I am today." 

Fabian closed his eye, sucking in the cool late night air. The summery atmosphere put him at ease. He smiled, thinking of his situation. Riz, his _boyfriend,_ was asleep in his bed. He'd genuinely had a blast with his friends in a house that had meant nothing to him before. He was moving past the idea that he had to be exactly like his father to be worth something. He didn't need the world to acknowledge him as a legend. He only needed The Bad Kids to keep him company. 

Wood creaking behind him made him turn around. Riz was hauling himself into the crow's nest, clearly struggling. Fabian hurried to crawl over and help him the rest of the way. He sat on his knees in front of Riz as he caught his breath. He carefully inspected Riz's arms, making sure there was no damage.

"What are you doing, climbing all the way up here? Your arms are still healing," Fabian scolded. 

"Just wanted to see you," Riz answered breathlessly, his pleased smile a little pained. 

Fabian sighed, unable to argue with him. He swung his legs back over the edge of the crow's nest and hugged Riz close to his side. He was happy to settle with sitting here and staring at the stars with Riz. 

"I... never thought I'd get to sit here like this with you," Riz mused, eyes locked on the stars. 

"Wh-What do you mean?"

"I didn't have any hope of you liking me back until Adaine and Fig told me there was a chance," Riz told him. He smiled down at his hands and said, "It's just... one of the best things to happen to me in a while." 

"Riz, I have been in love with you for a _long_ time," Fabian admitted, grinning as he saw Riz's face flush. "I only really realized it when you came back from actual heaven. It was... shocking, but it made sense to me. You were the first person I felt like I could just be me around. All those nights I called you just to talk, it wasn't because no one else would listen. I wanted to talk to you. I could let go of this stupid bravado that I put up to impress people and just be Fabian, no acts involved. It... It means a lot to me."

"I always thought about those calls. I'd think about those conversations over and over until they were ingrained in my memory. They mean a lot to me, too," Riz reminisced, leaning his head against Fabian's shoulder. He shifted to face Fabian, barely taking his face in his hands. He said, "I love every single part of you, Fabian. I am... the weirdest kid in our immediate group of friends, but you still wear that best friends necklace I gave you. You still wanted to be my boyfriend. You just think I'm... another kid. Not many people have seen that in me." 

"Riz, I don't know how many times I will have to say this, but... you're a badass," Fabian stated. He listened to Riz cackle before saying, "You've done so much cool and crazy shit, there's no _way_ you're just a normal kid. It's very endearing." 

"You said that to Telemaine before, that I'm _endearing,"_ Riz teased, sliding his hands from Fabian's face to rest them against his chest. 

"Oh shut it," Fabian drawled, "you know-"

It happened quickly, fast enough to catch Fabian off guard. Riz closed the distance between them, sneaking in a kiss. Not that Fabian would let him get away with that easily. He nearly instantly pushed back, dragging Riz into his lap. It still surprised him, how badly he had wanted this. Now that Riz was his, he could feel this love without restraint. He could hold Riz in his arms and kiss him and hold his hand whenever he so pleased. It was amazing. 

With Riz's fingers clinging to his shirt and his hands in Riz's hair and on his waist, Fabian didn't want the moment to end. He wanted to be with Riz here forever. But all good things must come to an end. Riz pulled away from him, breathless and wild-eyed with a smile that could outshine the sun. Fabian fell back in the crow's nest, taking Riz with him, so they were both laying on their backs, staring up at the sky. 

He kissed Riz's temple and mumbled into his ear, "I love you, you know." 

"I love you too," Riz whispered back, fingers still clutching the hem of Fabian's shirt. When he felt Riz's fingers flex against his hip, he remembered something important. 

"Do you still need to take your meds?" he asked, snapping back to reality. 

"Oh... yeah, I do. I totally forgot," Riz realized, a bit of the color draining from his face. 

"You can't just forget these things, Riz," Fabian insisted, pushing himself up. "Adaine would have it out for you." 

Riz laughed, "Yeah, you're absolutely right." 

Fabian got to his feet and stretched. As Riz sat up, he leaned down to scoop him into his arms. His arms immediately latched around Fabian's neck, on instinct or being startled, he couldn't tell. 

"Hold on tight," Fabian told him. "You may have climbed up here, but I sure as hell am not letting you climb back down."

"Greatly appreciated," Riz mumbled into his neck. "I'm really feeling the repercussions of not taking my meds right now." 

Fabian kept one arm around Riz's waist as he climbed down the mast. They left the stars and cool breeze behind and exchanged it for the warm and cozy interior of Seacaster Manor. He made sure Riz took his prescriptions before sliding into bed next to him. Fabian moved around him, wanting him to be as comfortable as possible. Fabian wanted nothing more than this, to be able to say he was Riz Gukgak's boyfriend and sleep next to him at night. 

As his mind began to drift to sleep, he thought about the stars. He thought about how they watched him and told his story. He thought about how they had been kind enough to connect him to Riz Gukgak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, the title is from Vacation by The Go-Go's. We start this fic with Megan Thee Stallion and end it with The Go-Go's. That's just how it is.


End file.
